


The 14th Ark

by Gilthlonel



Series: Make Your Own [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIII Series, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-28
Updated: 2014-04-30
Packaged: 2017-12-16 10:52:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 79,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/861274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilthlonel/pseuds/Gilthlonel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Continuing on Hope is the Future Paradox: When Snow crashes in and disrupts all their plans of action Noel finds himself tasked with protecting Hope as the other builds the new Cocoon. When that doesn't go according to plan Hope decides that the Arks are the key way to stop Caius.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> All right, I will warn you now... This is going to be long because I fail. It also sadly won't be posted as fast as With Me since I have to go back to work... But I hope you enjoy it just as much!

Hope was standing at the head of the control room like usual as he glared at the screen in front of him, looking over the new plans for the Cocoon project and deciding if things were going well or not. His sub plan, which everyone seemed very accepting of gave him heart to continue his work. As did his slightly secret co-workers. Serah and Noel, two time travelers. 

One a girl who he'd sought to save as one of many over 400 years ago and the other, a mysterious boy from the future. Who's memory they were unfortunately destroying as they did their work. It was odd he thought as he stared at the read outs of the finishing of his projects barebone's structure. It was something that dwelled on his mind and it was uncomfortable. If things continued the way they were and that was the plan.

Changing the timeline to what it should be should kill Serah if they change it... Wrong? Right? He wasn't sure what it was that she was seeing since she didn't tell anyone not even Noel. And although he hadn't shared his thoughts with anyone he was sure that it would kill the other young traveler as well. He hadn't said anything, but it was troublesome that Noel's memories were being erased, not changed. The young man had confided in him such information and it drew parallels to Hope's tenure as a l'cie.

When he and the other 5 had been tasked with the decision of what to do. It hadn't been an easy to make a choice. But it was assumed, and the assumption was rather sad, that any choice they made... They wouldn't really bear the consequences of. The only goal at the time had been to not turn into cieth. The crystal sleep was their goal, but that was only because Fang and Vanille had proven that you could wake up.

But they had woken up 500 years later. The only one to wake up sooner was Cid Raines and he had been merely a tool of Barthandulus to be used again and again. It was pretty much assumed that Anima would have no use of them again. They had most likely killed the Fal'cie in the battle that turned Lake Bresha into crystal.

Hope signed and was about to dive deeper into his thoughts when the room exploded into motion. As he turned to see the cause of such actions. He was not surprised to see Snow Villiers at the heart of it. Several members of the Guardian Corps were behind him. And idly Hope regretted giving him the ability to be recognized by the Guardian Corps as one of the time traveling leaders. Like he was with the Academy, like Lighting was.

"Arrest her!" He called in his impressive hero voice. Making Hope feel like he was trapped in a bad movie. Snow loved his theatrics while Hope had mostly enjoyed his quiet background position.

"Snow, what is the meaning of this? You never change do you?" He asked as he marched through the scattering scared scientists. Alyssa being appended by the squad. He squared his shoulders as he always did as he prepared to go toe to toe with is old friend. Certain parts of Snow's personality would never stop grating his nerves. "I hope you have a good reason for bursting in here, and arresting my assistant without greeting an old friend first."

"Well, I knew if I came here without something good you would have tossed me out on my ass kid." Snow replied as he clapped the Director on the shoulder. Serah and Noel, he noticed were sitting in the background, neither quite sure of how Hope would react to all this. Or really even what was going on. Even Serah, use to and amused by Snow's antics was unsure of where she stood in all this.

"And that is?" Hope asked as he lifted a hand to command the guard to release Alyssa.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. She's working with Caius." Snow cautioned and Hope stopped dead, what little color existed in his pale countenance drained. "The gate on the end of town is a trap set up by him to way lay our duo over there. Through my travels and Sis' guidance I learned that that one was being used to get them out of the way."

"I see." Hope looked at Alyssa carefully and then back at Serah and Noel. Noel's hands had clenched into fists. He thought no one knew, but it was easy to tell that Caius meant a lot to him. And this betrayal was probably deeper then anything else, to look for such coward's way to remove him. He turned to Alyssa again and knelt down to look at her. "Do you want to explain yourself?"

"I was there." She growled low and angry, he was quite taken aback by her tone. He had never heard such a sound from his companion. "I was there when it all began. I wanted to hate you so much. You were the reason I died. L'cie scum."

Hope pulled back from her as if burned. Although everyone knew about his history, it was something that still stung. Such a slur was meaningless now. 400AF was a long way from the ideas of Cocoon under Fal'cie rule. He was about to dismiss her when she spoke again.

"But then I got to know you. To know the truth about the Fal'cie. I came to believe in you. And you just decided that it's okay to let us all be a sacrifice? To die when we could live!" She shouted.

"If you're really going to believe the lies of the guy who's causing the paradoxes and trying to destroy the world... Then I'm not sure we should believe anything you say." Snow growled and waved at the Guardian Corps to take her away.

"Wait!" Serah stated and she approached Alyssa even as the girl glared at her with the angriest look she's seen in ages. "You died didn't you? In The Purge."

Alyssa growled and tried to launch herself at the girl. Startling her. The Corps strengthened the blond's restraints and pulled her away to take her to the detention cells. The room state quiet for a while and then Hope straightened up.

"Clear the room." He ordered carefully looking back at the other scientists. No one spoke as the begin to file out leaving their Director with the three time travelers. Once the room was empty, Hope deflated and leaned against a wall. "So what now?" He asked quietly.

"Right now kid, you continue this great project of yours... Can't believe you grew up so smart." Snow stated as he looked over at the hologram of the new cocoon. "But ya gotta be careful. Alyssa's not the only danger. Light told me that she's seen an assassination attempt on your life in about 3 days." Snow scrubbed a hand through his hair. "I had hoped you wouldn't have been pulled into all this crap."

"It's all right Snow. I don't think I could have stayed out if I wanted to." Hope rolled his shoulders and looked at the other two. "What about you two?"

"Well, that was supposed to be our lead so I don't know what now." Noel admitted quietly. "If the gate across town is a trap then we probably shouldn't open it... But if we don't that's a paradox unsolved."

"The paradoxes don't really need to be solved though." Snow commented as he leaned against the wall. "At least that's the way Lightning explained it. She said there are two fixed points in time... The fall of Cocoon and the 2nd act when the pillar finally gives out."

"So then what? The pillar will fall in 500AF. And then what happens?" Serah asked as she stared at her fiancee. "Will Light come back? The paradoxes are important."

"Well, that's the thing." Snow scratched his head and looked at them a little sadly. "Light wasn't so sure we could go back. Hope can't... Either way. If we stop Caius... We can only stop him in the future."

"Which means what?" Noel asked rolling his eyes. "Are you telling me that by default Caius has already won?!"

"Well kid... It's not the winning that's the problem." Snow looked contrite for a moment. "We can win. It's just that.... There's a large price coming up."

"And what would that be?" Hope asked as he glared at the taller man. 

"She didn't say. I didn't ask." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's not like it matters right? Could any of us sit back and let the world be destroyed?"

Hope laughed shallowly and bitterly as he shook his head. He glared at Snow fitfully and then looked at Serah and Noel. He swallowed hard, so this was what it all was then. They risk and they give up so much for the world. They drag others into this mess and all for what? To suffer more, to lose more? He'd have rather stayed crystal then. He took a deep breath and calmed himself, smoothing his features down and taking control of the situation.

"All right. Then what is important here is the raising of the new cocoon correct? Humanity has to live on." He nodded stiffly at them. "I'm going to assume that if I am assassinated that it will cause problems so I will do my best to stay alive. What will the rest of you do?"

"Serah and I will go along the timeline and fix the paradoxes that Caius has created to waylay Noel and Serah." Snow stated much more upbeat. He was a man of action and having a game plan was much, much better. "She was not meant to see the Timeline and the sooner we fix that the better I'll feel. 13 eras have been warped to ensure that this happens and I'd like to fix that."

"And what about me? Noel asked as he looked back and forth between the three. The guardian, hunter felt out of place in this meeting as if he wasn't quite being considered as one of the team.

"Light asked that you guard Hope. I know it doesn't seem as exciting but well. He means a lot to the future. And a lot to us. She also said it was 'the place you need to be to survive.' Whatever the hell that means." Snow looked back and fort between them. "I know it's not the greatest game plan... but that's what she gave me."

Hope nodded stiffly and then glared down his old friend. "I would totally disregard everything you'd said... but since Light said it I guess I can go with it." He looked to Noel. "I'm sorry that I don't have much for you to do. But I'm sure that I can change that."

"Er... According to idiot hero over there I'm supposed to protect you." Noel replied awkwardly. Hope was a friend, but distant. He'd never spent more then a few days near the other man and he wasn't sure of what to make of him or what to do with him.

"I suppose so." Hope rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty safe here though."

"Come on Hope. Sis' orders."

"You know she hates that." Serah teased, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. She squeezed Noel's arm. "I know you don't get it, but for Snow and the other's Hope is still a child."

"I heard that." Hope groaned and stared Snow down for a few seconds. "I hope you soon realize that I'm older then you now."

"Please kid. Time might be fucked up, but you will always be younger."


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp here we go. I hope you like it!

"I... I still have a hard time believing all this." Noel said as he sat on the edge of Hope's desk as the other man sat at his desk and sighed softly. 

"What? That you were left here? Or that Snow's off being his usual stupid self again."

"That Alyssa betrayed you." The other stated solemnly and Hope's mouth snapped shut. "I would have thought that she was in love with you... That you were in a relationship."

"I... Such a happening never crossed my mind. She was merely a friend." Hope stared off in the distance outside his window. "I never would have realized that she hated me so much. I mean, it's not like she didn't have a reason. The first 5 years after the fall were really hard. And considering that Pulse l'cie has always been hated and Gran Pulse was seen as hell on earth... It makes a rather sad sense."

Noel turned to him and gasped eyes wide. "How... How could you have done something that would make you.. All of you so hated?"

"Well... we didn't really have a choice. We honestly thought that we wouldn't be around to face the backlash if we succeeded anyways. We turned to crystal... Sazh, Snow and I on Gran Pulse, Fang and Vanille within the crystal pillar that they made with Ragnorok and if what is really happening is true... Light swallowed by chaos." He looked at Noel and shrugged. "It was better then the alternative. The Cocoon fal'cie nourished Cocoon and made it flourish so that people would happily breed more and more. To make a fitting sacrifice to their maker. Cocoon would have fallen either way... It was mostly just a question of how many had to die."

"That's disgusting." Noel replied quietly and Hope nodded in agreement. 

"We were pets to the Cocoon fal'cie... The Pulse fal'cie only consider us when we interrupt their space. We are merely usable insects to them."

"In my time they don't even exist." Noel commented vaguely in wonder.

"Fal'cie... are a rather strange kind of living thing. They have a focus like l'cie but they can not betray their focus... Ever. Which is why the Cocoonian fal'cie couldn't destroy it. After we destroyed Orphan all of the Fal'cie within Cocoon stopped... or I guess died might seem appropriate. They gained all their power from Orphan." Hope had a rather troubled look on his face. "A central Fal'cie who was merely a power source, never meant to wake."

"So you think that the Fal'cie here on Gran Pulse have a central 'power source as well."

"It would explain why they don't exist in your time. But then again such an idea scares me... because that would mean that such a Fal'cie is why the planet is still alive. And for it to die... it would become a bitter husk... Worse then Cocoon because there is no 'outside' world to continue to sustain it."

"What does that even mean?" Noel asked quietly.

"People still sort of live on Cocoon. When it fell... It broke open more... So the outside sunlight, rain and such all can make it inside and continue life inside. Not as wonderful as it once was. But still... It exists."

"Do you miss it?" Noel asked quietly.

"Of course I do." Hope snapped bitterly and then he sighed softly. "Cocoon was paradise Noel. My biggest problems were my dad being too busy to spend time with me. I didn't worry about food, or safety or anything. I was a coddled baby."

Noel wisely didn't say anything else as the older man's facial expression soured more. He looked to Hope's window, looking outside at the world that they lived in now. Beautiful and bountiful. Hope sighed weakly and sank deeper into his chair.

"Sometimes... I feel bad for the Fal'cie." He swallowed as the other looked over at him. "They have a purpose that they barely want. We... There are thousands of Fal'cie. Ones that weren't even involved in the destruction of Cocoon. Their directive was merely to nourish humans. And all of them died."

Noel swallowed hard and he reached out but stopped short. He knew pretty quickly that the silver haired man didn't like to be touched. He was a very tactile person, which had been easy with Sarah. She was the same. They often traveled to places more his speed or were fighting so he had much less time to feel awkward. But this world was almost completely different, a world he strived to make.

"What's it like?" Hope asked suddenly. "In the future?"

"Well... I can't say for sure." The hunter replied quietly. "I mostly remember that it was well... Dead. Sand for miles and miles. The sky bleak. Few animals left. Fewer water sources left. When I was a child, it was bad but not so bad?" He shrugged. "The village was next to a water source but when I was 14 it got contaminated and dried up. The other one was smaller, further way. By the time I was 18... it was just me."

"Because Yeul had died..." Hope whispered and Noel nodded as he stared down at his hands.

"My life was hard. I... My parents died young. And my grandmother taught me about medicines and cooking. When I was... nine I think Caius came. My grandmother asked him to teach me to hunt since no one else had time... But Caius taught me so much more." He shrugged idly.

"What did he teach you?" Hope asked quietly and Noel shrugged again.

"Everything it seems. With every paradox we solve my memory gets weaker. But... to read and write... Plusian and Cocoonian. He... he had a pad like you have. Where he taught me history, strategy, technology I guess." He pointed outside. "I don't quite understand everything out there... But I'm sure I've learned about all of it at some point."

"Noel." Hope stood up and walked around his desk, his lips pursed in thought. "Are you're memories being replaced or just... being erased?"

He felt guilty for asking such a question but he had a feeling that his fears were going to be confirmed and he had to know. Because maybe he could do something about it. He thought about what Snow had said and if he was the thing that could save Noel he would. Forget what Light had said, he would make sure to the best of his abilities. No more losses... He wasn't leaving anyone else behind.

"I... I don't know." Noel looked troubled. "It's just at certain places in my memories are fuzzy. As if they haven't been developed at all."

Hope nodded and then he smiled kindly. Maybe he was wrong and they were just weird because they were in the process of being reformed? He decided not to ask just yet and to relax. The stress building in his shoulders was quickly becoming a physical ache.

"All right, this is too heavy of a conversation. Let's go get something to eat."

******************************

It was day two and nothing they looked up about who might want to assassinate Hope had turned up anything. Hope had shrugged it off, assuming that they would just have to keep searching. His nonchalant behavior about his own life left Noel concerned. The amount of time that he was spending with the older man was making him more concerned.

He spent a lot of time with the older man. Mostly to protect his identity. Very few people knew about the time travelers. And those that did were all confined to team Alpha. In the course of the first day, Noel had learned a lot about Hope's position and place within the Academy and he was rather sure of what such a position would be like on a person. He'd taken over team Alpha, the head team of the Academy way back when he was 19, which made him the defacto leader of the Academy. He was the head director, but it was a council of the team heads that controlled the large government/research facility.

He also leaned, very quickly within the course of a day, was that Hope was very unhappy. Most of team Alpha he didn't know very well other then Alyssa and many of the members mostly treated him as if he were a god. Hope had no outside friends and hardly did anything outside of Academy headquarters. Even his living space was within the giant building and Noel felt like this was unhealthy.

He was with Hope now, at the top of the building in the cafe to eat breakfast. The space filled with plant life and wide open. The wind was blocked by glass. And it was beautiful but it made Noel long to go outside. He could see that Academia was a tamed paradise, but he could also see that much of Gran Pulse was still untamed and he want to go out there. He wanted to feel free again.

"...it would probably be best to head outside and do something not Academy related. Maybe just a trip... Noel?" Hope was staring at him in confusion and Noel realized that he'd drifted off.

"Oh, sorry? You were saying?"

"I said that we should go out today. Today is actually my day off. And well... I never went out there before because Alyssa can't fight. This way, the Guardian Corps don't have to come."

"You sound like you have a place in mind." Noel hinted at and Hope nodded. "I wanted to go to New Bodhum. It sounds stupid but... tonight is the fireworks show and I want... There's a lot of memories attached to that."

Noel wanted to ask what, but the look on Hope's face was somber and sad. He nodded lightly and took a sip of his drink as he thought about it. "Will we spend the night there?"

"I'm afraid the Guardian Corps won't think that's very safe. It's not really the same Bodhum as back then. We'll go causally. Most people know how I am, but I think it should okay."

"Sounds good. I can protect you!" Noel smirked at the chance to get away from Academia. Hope smiled at his enthusiasm and Noel felt himself feel a little weird. Before the other could notice he turned back to his food, determined to hid whatever that change was. "I'm very glad that I got the chance to stay in this time for a while. The food is amazing!"

Hope's smile softened into something gentle and fond. He loved showing Noel new things about life in Academia and this era. Even though previously he was only able to show him the happy people and a few quick meals between time jumps... He was grateful for this time. It was a stupid wish, but he wanted everyone to be happy. Everyone. And giving Noel the chance to live without worry of the next meal, and a soft bed... As simply as it was, he was glad to give these experiences to the other.

"Just wait." He smiled gently. "Until you taste the ice cream that New Bodhum is famous for."

*************************************

Noel found himself watching Hope as their transit took them to New Bodhum. The director had fallen asleep in his seat as he'd stared out the window at he passing scenery. Noel had been doing much the same, as he tried to avoid looking at the other. Hope's head was tilted against the window, long lashes rested gently against his skin. Noel felt stupid noticing such a stupid little detail but...

Now, that he had time to breath. That it wasn't all that quick stop, go, sleep, fight that he was use to, he had time to really look at the world around him. And Hope was a very good subject to study. His silver hair, brushing against his checks. His long, awkward legs and arms. His brow was still furrowed as if sad or in consternation. He wanted to smooth that out.

He wanted to know why a man so great and loved and heralded could be filled with such pain. He also, if he stopped to think about it, wanted to be one of the people that alleviated it. He knew that Lighting was one of those people and Vanille. It made him feel like he couldn't do anything. Surely one of those women had the position that he coveted. He swallowed hard.

That line of thought push him into a realization that he wasn't ready for. Now that he had the time to really look over his own thoughts and feelings, he realized that he cared for the other man. More then cared probably had feelings. Leaning back in his seat and turning back to the actual scenery Noel thought back to 10AF, when he'd first met the other man. Tried to think of what he thought and felt when first laying eyes on the other man.

After a solid 20 minutes of thinking Noel realized, with an unsettled feeling in his stomach that he really did have feelings for Hope. They'd been there since they first met. A remembered jolt at seeing the silver haired man for the first time. Being enthralled with his voice. The guilt he'd felt when he realized that many of his actions directly returned affected the man's memory.

And the worst memory of all, that solidified it. The horror, pain and grief he'd felt in Augusta Tower when the A.I. had told him Hope was dead. Or worse, the vision of it happening. Feelings that he'd shoved down because his own life was in danger and then all but forgotten when he'd seen him alive again. He closed his eyes with a long suffering sigh. An unrequited set of feelings was the last thing that he'd wanted to deal with on top of everything else that they had to deal with.

**********************

The town of New Bodhum in the year 400AF was vastly different from the one that Noel had seen all those years ago. Once they got to the beach it look kind of the same. Small shops and houses but those quickly gave way to city streets more reminiscent of Academia when you were in the city proper. Hope when the finally got off the train in New Bodhum Beach Station went and changed his clothes into something more relaxed.

But Noel could tell from the material that it was woven into body armor. Casual work pants and a loose shirt and jacket. He noticed that the yellow bandana was still tied around his wrist. Noel begin to wonder if he ever took it off. Hope smiled softly and gestured him to the gates.

"It'll be a few hours before sundown... The monsters here aren't so strong but I figured that I'd get some real training in while we're here."

"Somehow, I feel like there's a reason that you wanted to come here with just me." Noel raised an eyebrow and Hope nodded faintly.

"Well, the government doesn't know that I can still do magic. In the past I wore a manadrive but I never really needed it. But now I know why I have it." He pointed towards the exit towards the wilder parts of the beach, where the warnings were posted. "I was worried because while magic has come back to the people in a sense... It's not the same as what I have."

"And what do you have?" Noel asked as he leaped over the barricade followed by the other man.

"My powers." He admitted quietly. "When you become a l'cie... the Fal'cie aren't giving you powers... they are awakening the ones you already have. L'cie in many ways have no limitations of their growth due to the Fal'cie. Or well they do, but to live freely like I and the others now do... Well, that made us a danger to the Fal'cie... and thus we turned into crystal when our focus is over... Or cieth when we fail to please our masters."

"That sounds terrible... but you were crystal weren't you. Serah told me about that."

"We woke up. Whoever woke us up... Snow told me that it was Etro but... If she did she couldn't turn us off for lack of a better term." He lifted his hands and greenish fire appeared on his fingers. "I'm rather happy about it."

"Then why did Snow become a l'cie again? That doesn't make sense." Noel shook his head but Hope smiled fondly at him and shook his head.

"When you fought with Snow what was he like?" The scientist asked quietly.

"Stronger, faster. He seemed almost inhumane and never needed to heal."

"Exactly. Being a l'cie increases your abilities as well. You become super human." His face became sorrowful for a second. "If not for that I wouldn't have survived. I am a talented mage, probably one of the best... but I have a lot of physical limitations that even being a l'cie couldn't really change..."

"But Snow..."

"All my limitations are here now. I am a strong magic user... one might even say super strong... but I am not a l'cie... they are super human. Snow, to guard the pillar needed the power of a l'cie if what you say is true. He was fighting an endless battle against the flan to keep them from melting the pillar." Hope swallowed hard. "It's a godlike power that of course I don't possess anymore."

"But you're the one that made the cocky statement about your magic." Noel stated as he turned around to walk backwards. Most animals near a human settlement most likely wouldn't be terribly strong considering the Guardian Corps.

"Human capabilities are amazing." Hope admitted quietly as he paused and pointed to Cocoon. "We thought that such things were something that only a Fal'cie could make. But what we've done on Gran Pulse is far greater. And likewise. With the amount of training that I put in with my magic... I'm almost as strong magically as I had been then. But, I can't account for the boosts that being a l'cie gave me. I no longer have an endless well of magic, I'm only good at certain types of magic now instead of all of them. My limits had to be built up then endurance and determination."

"So your magic is like mine then?" Noel asked quietly. "I mean, I'm on the weaker side because I spent more time training my physical side."

"Well sort of, I didn't have to learn how to use it, I just have to extended my limits. Like I said, Fal'cie could turn us on by making us l'cie... but they can't turn us off. And even not being as powerful and remarkable as a l'cie... Enough humans awakened would have the power to have stopped them." He laughed. "The Fal'cie held us back because our potential was far greater then theirs. Jealousy might be appropriate. But that was purely a Cocoonian Fal'cie mindset."

"That's depressing." Noel turned towards the trail and started walking again. "That just means they were too stupid to really utilize humans and that led to their downfall."

"I don't think they could have utilized us. If the six of us hadn't challenged our fate, hadn't had Serah as an inspiration... We would have simply fulfilled out fate. Maybe their so called maker forsaw that and stopped them." Hope shook his head. "But that's a lot of conjecture on my part. It would be impossible to know what Lindzei was thinking."

"Lindzei is the God of the Cocoon Fal'cie and Pulse is the God of the Gran Pulse Fal'cie and I guess us humans have Etro." Noel replied quietly. "At least that's what Caius told me."

"What exactly was life like for you? Before you started traveling, I mean?" Hope asked quietly.

"Hard." Noel responded. "Long." He added after a moment. "When I was very young... my grandmother was my sole caretaker... My parents had died swiftly and most of the village had no time for me. I was one of the last three children born. And since Yeul was the Seeress, she was really the only one who was important."

Hope opened his mouth to say something but Noel waved him off. There were some Nektons but they were far off, and Noel wanted to finish before they lost themselves in battle. "Caius took me in when I was 5 years old as an apprentice. My grandmother had thought it was great. She being the village historian and doctor... she taught me a bit about reading, but she couldn't teach me things like hunting and what not. Caius was a brutal teacher though."

"He gave me a datapad and forced me to learn more then even made sense at the time. Day and night I learned about old cultures, languages, math, technology. I understand a lot of the things that exist in this time even if it's only from a... book standpoint. And it's weird... Even as we change the timeline... my memory gets warped, especially on the history side... But everything else stays the same. The history part makes me sad, as that was often where my grandmother and I could still bond."

"You miss her a lot don't you?" Hope asked in a somber tone. "I understand the feeling... the longing I mean."

Noel nodded quietly. He found he didn't really feel like fighting. He stretched his arms above his head. "I think that's what's really the hardest part in all of this. The people who get left behind."

Hope swallowed hard at Noel's words, because he that was still something that wounded him greatly. Being left behind, not sure if he was good enough.

******************************

As they sat on the beach at night with ice cream. Noel had given in and admitted that Hope was in fact a formidable mage. He stared up at the dark sky waiting for the fireworks to start. It was strange he thought as he turned to look at the scientist again. They had talked more then they had battled out in the grasslands around the beach and yet... He never felt uncomfortable. Hope was someone that he just clicked with, more so then anyone else he'd ever met.

Which made him feel guilty when he thought about Yeul and then foolish when he realized that he never thought about her in the same way that he thought about the scientist.

"Don't forget to make a wish on the fireworks." Hope smiled gently. "It's a tradition."

Noel couldn't help but skeptically raise an eyebrow. "Really? I somehow don't believe that."

"I don't know if other people do it... but let's say... it's an Estheim tradition." His smile turned melancholy. "Anything is okay."

The first in a series of blasts went off. And Noel gasped. He had seen pictures of such an event but to waste explosive powder on such fancies wasn't something that could happen in 700AF. He turned to Hope, to find him smiling fondly. And he realized that he had a wish. One that he would wish over and over again.

"Hey." Hope looked over and met his eyes as the show began to wind down. "What'd you wish for?"

Noel swallowed hard and then returned quickly. "What did you wish for?"

Hope laughed softly. "I know it all seems childish but... I wished that you and I could enjoy the fireworks again. It's a small thing, but it's something I would like to do." Noel watched argentate hair fall into his eyes. "Give you this gift of a future that you and your clan will hopefully one day experience."

"Hope..." Noel reached out and took his hand. His confession was on the tip of his tongue. How could Hope be so gentle and gracious with him, he didn't know. He squeezed it gently and then he realized that he was being awkwardly forward.

"Thank you..." He pushed himself to smile back. "I'll tell you my wish when it comes true."


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay. With my mom so sick I had to go back to the US for a while and jet lag is a bitch. I will put up one more chapter this week before I go spastic again. Hopefully next month I'll be on a better update schedule.

As Hope's bodyguard, the bodyguard of the Lead Advisor and Director of the new cocoon project. Noel had been challenged by the Council and other parts of the government and the Academy for his role. Hope had convinced them by explaining that his purview was time travel and the cocoon project, but also a bit of a white lie that Noel was his protector in the past and the he'd come to this time in another experiment, which had waylaid the people who were allowed to know his top secret experiments... And cooled off everyone else thankfully.

Noel had realized fairly quickly that what Hope was doing was replacing memories of Alyssa with memories of Noel. It let an unsettled feeling in his stomach, but in the history was an offhanded mention of Hope wanting to travel with an advisor that later backed out and it was easy to sneak in Noel. Noel was labelled a guardian and Pulse expert. More to throw people off about it then to set him up as a researcher. And he settled in comfortably next to Hope, if a little bored with the things that the scientist did every day.

"You know, it's not the I'm a great scientist that I get to do all these things." Hope commented as he sat down his datapad and looked over at the latest of scientists challenging Hope's hypothesis on the breaking of the crystal pillar.

"I know what the record says director, but the reports state that the pillar is fine. Has been fine for a hundred years." The scientist, Millie Cloaks stated as she herself set down a datapad that displayed a hologram image.

"I know what you are going for, but the point is this: the pillar is safe for now. According to everything that we have, the pillar will fall in 500AF. We've tested many theories back in the first decade and more testing occurred after I left. I don't know of any way to really cushion Cocoon that would really do us any good."

"I'm just concerned, moving the entirety of society onto this Ark seems rather temporary."

"Trust me it is not." He smiled gently. "If you're remembered, I lived on Cocoon until the fall. And before that humanity had lived on Cocoon for thousands of years."

"But that was held up by a Fal'cie." She replied faintly.

"Yes, but we won't be relying on them anymore." Hope's tone was firm and brooked no argument. "The building of the Ark is going well. Once the shell is complete I'll consult the agricorps and see about setting up something like Sunleth Waterscape there, as well as renewable farming. The center of our world can be human made. It is now and it will continue to be so."

"Yes sir." She whispered as she stared at him. He smiled gently as she turned to walk away. She paused at the door. "I'm sorry for not believing Director. I'll talk to those directly on the team and see what types of machinery they will need to begin setting up terra firma inside instead of just building shelters."

"Thank you Dr. Cloaks." The door slid shut behind her and Hope shook his head. "It's kind of strange... Back then it took so much to convince people to move off Cocoon since most of it was no longer viable with the Fal'cie dormant. Now... convincing them to move off Gran Pulse is just as bad."

Noel laughed softly but he was focused on one part. "Humans are stubborn... but there's one question I have... What did you mean by 'not a great scientist?' Every time you say it people just kind of nod it off as modesty but..."

"Well, to them it's modesty." Hope replied quietly. "Because they can't really understand."

"What do you mean?" Noel tilted his head to the side and Hope smiled at the sight.

"I can talk to machines. Like how Serah and Vanille could do it too, talk to animals I mean. Mostly people have been found to be able to communicate with animals or plants. I haven't heard of someone else who can 'talk' to machines. But I'm sure I can't be the only one."

"So what? Is most of your science the machines telling you things?" Noel teased, a bright smile on his face. "Because I think I know a machine that might-"

"Don't tempt me." Hope interrupted lifting his left hand playfully. "I'm quite fond of ice magic."

Noel laughed heartily. It felt good to be around Hope and be relaxed. While they were on the third day and time was running out. He felt rather safe within the halls of the Academy. He knew that when they went outside the danger would be back. But then again as Hope had said, if what Snow said was true, then it would be tomorrow that everything would go to hell. Hope smiled at him and then looked down at his paper work.

"I know it's not what you intended... but thank you for staying with me... Noel." Hope had a faint blush across his cheeks and Noel sat up more. It was the first indication that he'd seen that Hope might be tempted to go beyond friendship. He watched as the other man distinctly ignored him. Not wanting to let the chance go he pushed for a greater reaction.

"It's nothing. After all, you've done a lot for me too."

"I like showing you new things." Hope admitted the blush deepening. "I like... treating you."

"I like you too." Noel drawled as he stood up and approached the other man. "It's been a lot of fun these past two days."

"Good." Hope stared down at his desk but when Noel's shadow fell over him he looked up. Noel leaned into his personal space and smiled at Hope. The kiss wasn't unexpected to say the least. Not with the way that Noel was leaning forward giving Hope the time to back out of it.

Hope didn't want to back out. Throughly unexperienced in such matters as a subtle connection like this. He let Noel lead as he sighed deeply into the kiss. Nothing more then a gentle chaste kiss, Hope didn't open his eyes when the other pulled back. 

Noel took in the man before him, dark eyelashes still laid against his cheeks. His pale skin was still flushed but for a different reason now. Noel took in everything about him, imperfections and all. Noel set his hand on Hope's cheek gently and leaned in for another kiss. He never made it that far as he pressed a little too hard against the desk and grunted in discomfort as the sharp end pressed into his side.

"Ow, ow." He backed up, hands flailing as he lifted up the side of his shirt to see a red mark across his skin from the sharp press. He was distracted from his pained actions by soft laughter. Hope was looking at him with a sincerely happy smile on his face. One that he'd never seen before. "Beautiful."

Hope felt his face flush ever more at such whispered words. He looked down at first, in embarrassment before he shook himself and looked up. "This is probably not the best place for this... Let's go out to eat tonight."

Noel nodded eagerly and grasped the silver haired man's hand tightly. "Can we go to the one place with the... whatever it was. The place you really like?"

Hope laughed again, let his hand caress Noel's and smiled a bit brighter. "Sure."

For the rest of the day, Noel happily followed Hope around. Thinking of what could happen tonight when they talk about their feelings for real.

************************

Hope's favorite restaurant in the year 400AF is based off an old Palumpolum restaurant called Futures that his mother had loved. He didn't want to admit that he was super sentimental but memories of his mother was as much a daily motivator for him as the people that he was working to save and be reunited with now. As Noel excitedly looked over the menu. Hope wondered how he couldn't be nervous.

"After this," Noel started and when had he put down the menu. "is it all right if we go straight to your place..."

He trailed off but Hope knew what he meant. Not having a lot of people around for most of his life, had made Noel a private and rather solitary person. Hope was in a lot of ways the same way but his project had increased his reliance on others to a point he couldn't ignore. But like this, just quietly being with Noel was a great improvement on his life that he hadn't known he needed. The prospect of starting a relationship was an even greater gift.

Dinner went by quickly and as they walked back towards his home. Hope found himself throwing caution to the wind and grasping Noel's hand as they walked through the quiet streets. Academia was like a paradise most days. Or maybe the calm before the storm considering what the future held, but tonight... He looked over at Noel as he the hunter led the way through the streets. Tonight was a little bit of paradise for Hope.

When they reached his apartment, Hope could feel butterflies in his stomach. Now that he was faced with the part about actually talking about having a relationship everything suddenly felt frightening. Almost like the first time that he'd set foot on Gran Pulse. The elevator ride was quiet and even once they were inside, Noel was quiet as he put away his weapons.

Hope copied him, having forgotten that he was wearing his boomerang because of Snow's dire threat a few days ago. With more thought he also pulled off his Academy jacket and gloves. Noel smiled at him brightly and approached him again and grabbed his hands.

"It feels good doesn't it?" Noel asked quietly as he continue to look at him. "Just being together."

Hope swallowed hard as he realized that there was still so much more outside their little bubble. He pulled his hands from Noel's and pressed them to the taller man's face and looked into his eyes. He wasn't sure of what came over him, but he knew that this was something he wanted more then anything. He leaned up the little bit it took to connect their mouths. Noel chuckled lightly against his lips as he settled his hands on the silver haired man's narrow waist.

"I'm not sure this is what Lightning had in mind." Noel teased as he pulled back and pressed his forehead against the shorter man's."I can't say I mind the outcome though."

Hope smiled gently, he could feel tears building behind his eyes. He leaned into the other, letting himself rest. Noel slid his arms further around the other to hold him tight as the silver haired man pressed his hands to the hunter's chest. The strong heartbeat under his hands was reassuring.

"It's a little fast isn't it?" Hope murmured lightly. "But it feels right? Like now that we had time to breathe it all feel into place."

The hunter hummed his agreement as he shifted a bit to cradle the scientist. The silence stretched between them comfortably for a few moments before Hope pulled back and led them to the couch to sit together. Hope pressed himself back against the hunter, laying his head on his shoulder. He wasn't normally one for physical contact, but he found himself scared that if he couldn't feel the hunter's skin that he would realize it was all a dream.

"I guess, this is the point where I ruin everything." Noel murmured even as one of his hands played with the bottom of Hope's shirt, slowly pulling the back of it out of his pants. "But... the future is changing..."

"I don't think it's a problem." Hope intercepted quickly as he sat up and looked at him. "The future isn't set. But remember what Snow said... there's a large price to pay. And whatever it is, it will affect all of us. And considering how much of the future... this part of the future requires my time travel I can't go back... I can either be alone in 500AF or find you in 700AF."

"That's if we even remember each other. Because when we fixed 10AF you didn't remember us when we met you in the fixed timeline." Noel pointed out and Hope sighed in frustration.

"Well then if that does happen it's not like we'll miss something we don't remember." He snapped in irritation as he curled his hands into fists. "Who knows how long it will take everything to happen. Do you want to sit here with me for weeks, months or hell maybe even a year or two pretending that we don't feel anything for each other? If time is going to run out for us I want to live it to the fullest."

"Hey." Noel's voice was quiet as he lifted Hope's face up to see his red rimmed eyes. The anger leaving a high flush to his cheeks. Noel kissed him gently. "I didn't mean to make you upset. It's just..."

"Whatever the cost will be Noel... It's going to be a lot. If what Snow believes is true and whatever Lightning might have inferred..." He swallowed hard and lifted his hands to cup Noel's face again and stared deeply into his eyes. "I don't want to die wondering what it could have been like. Even living with only the memory is better then that."

"You aren't going to die." Noel hissed possessively as he pushed Hope down into the couch and crouched over him. "I'm going to protect you."

"Even if I live to be an old man. I-" He was cut off by the dark haired man's mouth.

This kiss was different then previous ones. Rough and possessive, practically claiming the older man. Hope kissed back just as fiercely but he was no where near as aggressive as the younger man. The scientist clutched at the hunter's shoulders, pulling him down even as Noel braced himself with an arm beside the scientist head and the other on his hip. Hope parted his legs, wanting the other man closer without thought. Pressed together that way sent a shiver of pleasure through him and he moaned weakly, breath stolen away.

"Too much." Hope gasped as he pulled away. Noel didn't heed him at first, pressing kisses down along his neck, to his shirt. But the hunter didn't move any further, just laying down on Hope, allowing his body to be cradled by the older man.

"You know... you're probably right." Noel whispered and Hope couldn't help but smile as he held the man on top of him.

*************************************

Hope woke up to the sight of richly tan skinned and far too bright sunlight shinning into his eyes. He was curled up into Noel in his bed in their night clothes. It was comforting, Hope thought to lie with the hunter and feel maybe a fraction of the comfort that Serah must have felt when she was reunited with Snow all those years ago. It wasn't perfect, but it was something to ease the pain.

It hadn't surprised him that Noel had saw no reason for such things as pajamas which made sense though it had embarrassed Hope last night but felt perfectly comfortable now. He looked over at his clock, it was getting closer and closer to the time that he had to get up, the silver haired mage felt dread pool in his stomach.

Today was the day, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to go outside yet. He hadn't touched Noel enough, hadn't spent enough time with him. And as his mind searched franticly for things that he'd wanted to experience before his own death... He'd wanted to have sex with the younger man. His thoughts must have been loud, becuase Noel, who must have been humoring him by pretending to be asleep shifted.

"Hey."

"Hey." He breathed as he tried not to think about all the terrible things that could happen today. Right now, he wanted to live in the moment with Noel and think about how wonderful the other was.

All right, so maybe lamenting his own death was making him sappy and sentimental, but he felt he was aloud.

"Yo... person here under you." Noel teased as he tilted the silver haired man's head up. Noel's eyes were gentle as he stared down at him and Hope swallowed hard as he looked at him. A kiss was pressed against his mouth that calmed down all the frantic thoughts that ran through his mind. "How about we start with breakfast?"

The alarm went off, blaring through the room. And Noel who'd never spent a morning with the scientist jerked in surprise. Hope reached out and turned the alarm off. He looked at Noel and sighed softly before he set up. What was next he wondered idly? What all would happen today that would cause him problems? When would the attack happen? Snow had only given him clarification that today was today.

"Hope. Hope!" Hands were on his shoulders, shaking him slightly. "Look at me."

"S-sorry." He smiled a little surprised at the rapid pace of his own breath. "I just can't help but think about it."

"Well stop." Noel commanded gently. "We have a lot to do today with the graviton core placement tests today."

"I know, but my mind..." He trailed off and glared down at Noel's chest. "Stupid Snow ruins everything."

"Stupid Snow is just trying to save your life the best way he can." Noel replied raking a hand through silver locks. "You had to deal with him for weeks... months? During the Fall, shouldn't you be use to this by now?"

"If you mean him screaming 'Serah' constantly and moping and basically annoying the shit out of the rest of us... Then yes, I had to deal with Snow." Hope grouched as he squeezed his hands in his lap. "He's such a stupid jerk."

"You don't really think that." Noel replied and Hope shook his head and looked up at him with twinkling eyes.

"Oh, I mean every word of it. The only good sides he might have, he shows to Serah." He sighed softly and leaned forward into the hunter. "I shouldn't waste time on this."

"You can do whatever you want." Noel replied quietly. "I'm here to listen to you at the very least."

"I honestly think that there are better things to listen to then me complaining about Snow." Hope teased and then stretched his arms above his head to feel his bones pop pleasingly into place. "He's like an older brother that you know got dropped on his head too many times as a baby."

Noel gasped and laughed hard into the sheets as he rolled away for Hope. "Warning next time!"

Hope smiled at his partner's? Yes, partner, he liked the way that sounded, continued laughter. "Let's get ready, I want to get myself busy so that I can stop thinking about it.

"Okay." Noel sat up and reached for his clothes. "I'll use the bathroom down the hall."

****************************

Hope sat at the main console of the control room, his eyes darting back and forth between the computerized hologram and the video feed from the sight. The basic structure of the bottom of the new cocoon was complete but the topside was still in the works. The cores had been placed in what he'd thought was the optimal places but now to test if that was enough. Five gravitation cores had seemed like enough but he wasn't totally sure anymore now that he didn't have Alyssa to back him up.

He choked on his breath as he thought about her. She had vanished during the night that he'd spent with Noel. And though the memory of her had been fading all along, only preserved by Noel's influence he still felt guilty. She had done a lot for him and had done a lot for humanity. But now, now she was gone and everything she had done had been attributed to others.

If there was one thing that he could do and that was in limited capacity, it was to remember her. And maybe it was a bit of his own selfishness that forced him to try and remember. While Noel remembered her perfectly, it was only his memories of 700AF that were being taken from him... Hope was forgetting things within his own past. Within the parts of his past that were connected to Noel.

Which terrified him. He had talked a big game about traveling to 700AF and finding Noel to continue their... relationship. But, if he forgot Noel, would he even bother to leave 500AF? And what would his life be like if he forgot Noel and the adventures of him and Serah. If all he could remember was choosing to leave everyone he loved behind.

If all he was left with were the bad memories what would become of him?

A heavy hand dropped on his shoulder and he turned to see Director Nabaat, a name that always made him start at first, even if said person wasn't related to Jihl Nabaat at all. Or well, if they were 400 years into the future would be enough to remove any connection to the PSICOM Colonel. 

"You with us?" He asked quietly as he look at him. Director Suin Nabaat was a hulking man, sharing a similar build to Snow but with skin the color of rich earth. He was a fatherly kind of man and had latched onto Hope with a father's kind of empathy.

"My mind has been distracted today." He admitted quietly. "Do to the..."

"I know." The hand squeezed gently. "Once the tests are over, I'd feel better if you and Noel left for today. I know it's only delaying the inevitable but... Maybe changing your habits will give us some more time to figure out who could be behind this."

"I would say yes... but just in case there is nothing we can do... I really have to have those meetings with the Agricorps today." Hope stated quietly. "If I can get everything that I can set up before I... Incase something happens I'd like it done. I need to get it done."

Director Nabaat nodded in understanding but his face spoke of exactly how he felt about it. Hope was in many ways the 'hope of the future.' He had awakened barely a year ago and had immediately started to aid research without any question, with out any desire of recognition. He had a feel that the young Director hadn't wanted it either, but it was hard considering who he was to not be. After all, this was his project and his vision to change this future.

As the levitation tests started, Hope kept his eyes glued to the screen. Halfway through the test, Noel entered the room and leaned against the wall. The silver haired man knew without looking that he was looking at the screen, watching as the new cocoon slowly lifted 50 meters off the ground and was released, floating of it's own accord. As the cranes took a hold of it and allowed it to float higher.

Hope breathed a sigh of relief. Even if things went to hell today, he had done it. The new cocoon would be able to be lifted and while the evacuation wasn't for another 70 years or so, he knew that the Academy would now completely stand down by the orders he'd set down for the future.

Maybe now he could focus on things for him. He looked at Noel and smiled thinly. It was good but there was still a worry. The last part of the levitation test, required Hope to go to the annex facility on the outskirts of Academia to calibrate the placement of the gravitation cores.

All that the had to go on was that the attack would most likely happen at the annex facility, but Hope needed to make that trip. So they had agreed to make it as small a trip as possible. He looked at Noel. The attack would happen there. What kind of attack no one knew, but they had to let it happen. He swallowed hard, and prepared for the hardest part of the day.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So tired...
> 
> Finally back in Japan after babysitting my poor sick Mom. Also, in all my time at the hospital I got two chapters finished! So expect an update next week!

The annex facility was a nondescript building with an Academy insignia on the sign leading up to it. Inside was the machinery that was directly connected to the placement of the gravitation cores. They assumed that some kind of armed attack would most likely take place here and so they made sure to place as many Guardian Corps people as they could around and near the facility.

Which Noel thought was stupid, making it more obvious. But even the hunter had to admit that there was nothing else that they could really do. They stood quietly, saluting as the two men passed and the hunter looked over each of them uncomfortable. It could be anyone that was going to attempt to take Hope's life. He found his mind wandering to Augusta Tower in the thankfully ended timeline, remembering how Hope had died once. Due to an error of the scientist's own judgement. A time in which Hope could have died before he'd even had time to understand that he cared so deeply for the master mage. 

Once they were inside the control room of the complex, Hope turned to the master panel and begin to work vigorously. They both felt the need to get back into the city as soon as possible. Everything about this place felt far to vulnerable. As the hour droned on, Noel found himself becoming unreasonably bored, even though he knew he should be on high alert.

"Noel, could you go into the next room and send the forwarding message to Director Nabaat? When you get back, we should be ready to go." Hope replied without looking as he sensed the other's boredom and impatience.

"On it." Noel waved as he exited the room glad for something to do.

*************************

Hope began to shut down the computer in front of him. He felt nervous and achy. He wanted out of here as fast as possible. Usually he had no particular feelings about the annex center but considering what was meant to happen today, he felt nervous. After shutting down the computer, he headed into the antechamber to check the visuals of what the inside of the new cocoon looked like, and the camera modules. As the door slid shut behind him, the first blast happened.

Hope flew forward into the console. Gasping in pain as his shoulder was jarred. He rolled over groaning in pain. The control room had been completely destroyed. His guards and any scientists that in there were dead. Only the metal doors had spared his own life. He felt a power surge and rolled under one of the blown off doors as the second explosion went off. He swallowed hard in fear. Had Noel come back to the control room? Was there yet another bomb in the communications room?

He pressed his head into his hands as he leaned down with his eyes closed. He choked on a cry as another explosion sounded. It was most likely that he was going to die here and when Snow had told him of the assassination, he hadn't been too horrified at the thought of it. It had never occurred to him that the attack would be on such a grand scale. He had assumed an assassination, not a massacre.

"HOPE!" He heard the cry of his name and it made him jerk up as he swallowed down his terror. After all, the explosions seemed to have stopped now. Which meant that if terrorists were going to be through that sweeps would start. The call sounded out again. The panic in Noel's voice rekindled the terror that Hope had felt before hand.

The silver haired man opened and closed his mouth a few times, but he couldn't get himself to speak up. He could hear the sounds of Noel's foot steps coming closer as he tried to will himself to call out. Suddenly there was a face that appeared at the other side of the door. He scrambled back and then winced as he realized that his arm was injured.

Noel was over him immediately, he grabbed Hope's injured arm and careful examined the deep cut. Hope whimpered and tried to pull back but the hunter pulled him forward and kissed him roughly across the mouth.

"You scared the shit out me." The guardian hissed, the rare obscenity scaring some of the shock out of Hope's system but not enough to make him much more useful. Noel turned away from him still gripping his arm and looked back into the destoryed control room. "We need to get out of here."

"N-N-Noel." Hope reached for his shoulder and missed. He felt weird. Noel turned into time to see the scientist's eyes roll up into his head. Confused he pulled Hope up into his arms and began to search for a way out.

Noel managed to get them to the upper levels and down a hall before he heard the sound of bullets and he cursed. He couldn't carry Hope and fight. But leaving the other behind was not an option he could consider. He ducked into a room and noticed that most of the room was missing in the face of a bomb probably having blown it out. He sat Hope down slowly and gently looked him over. He found that in his back, was some kind of small dart, like the ones that had been all over the gore he had found in the destroyed control room. He pulled it out and tossed it aside. 

Without much time or the knowledge to analyze it, the hunter just assumed that that was the cause for the man's unconscious state. The other people in the room being beyond mutilated would be the reason that he hadn't seen the effects on others. After checking for more injuries and then casting a minor cure on himself, the long cut in his side from shrapnel probably wasn't going to get better any time soon, but the blood flow was now sluggish and that was good enough.

The hunter paused as he heard footsteps but no one checked the room, probably assuming that it was blown out and empty. After the steps faded he headed towards the edge and noticed that this part led out into the wilds. Noel sighed, it was their best bet at this point. He checked his comm for damage and found that it was okay though he was glad it was still off and began to look for a way down.

As he scanned it, he noticed an odd collection of rocks that made a rather jagged slide. If he jumped carefully he could probably hit the smoother parts and get down to the base before it fell. He then looked back at his friend? Partner? Lover? He shook his head. He could make it, braving his way through the complex wasn't a good idea.

He walked back over to Hope and brushed a hand across his face but there was no response from parted lips. Noel had a feeling that these terrorists had wanted him alive regardless of what Snow had said but in their hands it's not like Hope would have lived much longer. He pulled the scientist onto his back and secured him as best he could. He approached the edge of the building. Taking a deep breath, he readied himself and took the first jump.

It was hard going, his leg got caught on a jagged edge on the second jump throwing him off balance but he managed to on the third get his equilibrium back and get to the fouth, fifth and sixth no problem. On the last jump, he slipped and they both tumbled to the ground. Noel groaned in pain and looked for Hope, finding him not too far away, blood flowing from the side of his head. Swallowing down panic he moved closer and rolled him over. The unconscious man must have hit a rock or something. Sluggish blood flow turning his silver hair into a murky red and slipping down his cheek.

"Let's get some where safe." Noel told him and lifted him into his arms and headed into the forest.

As he began to walk into the forest, another larger explosion occurred, forcing Noel to take refuged behind a rock. The hunter figured that it destroyed the rest of the building which hopefully meant that the terrorists might go back to where the hell they came from. One could only hope anyways. He looked down at his precious cargo and sighed softly. If he could make it back to the city limits he could meet up with the Guardian Corps and get back to headquarters.

The walk was long and quiet and even though Hope's breath remained strong and healthy, the hunter still found himself getting increasingly worried about the other. When he finally broke the tree-line, he realized they were near the service road for the rail system that moved between Academia and New Bodhum. Obviously much closer to the former then the latter, he slipped back into the trees with a renewed sense of direction and headed for where he hoped the nearest service station would be.

It took hours to get there, especially since he had to take breaks to cast healing spells on himself and Hope, thankfully far away enough to not attract people with the glows of Curas. He placed Hope down and slowly approached the building and waved down a member of the Guardian Corps that was on patrol.

"Noel Kriess? What are you doing out here?" The soldier asked as he looked at him curiously. "And where is the director? We heard about the attack."

"The director is safe." Noel replied quietly. "Can you please call the Academy and get someone out here."

"Sir. If you would like you and the director can wait here." The grunt said as he motioned to the station. Noel didn't really like the idea, but he found he had no choice as he was going to have to really figure out how much longer Hope was going to be unconscious. He stayed still for a moment thinking but he knew that for the most part the building had been destroyed and most of the terrorists would have assumed that Hope had died in one of the blasts, since it was obvious that they didn't do an actual search to check for survivors. The explosions were too close in time.

Those footsteps he'd heard were probably escaping traitors.

"All right." He spoke quietly and walked back into the woods and hefted the still unconscious director into his arms and headed for the station. The soldier gestured him to the small medical bay that existed in case accidents happened on the railroad. The bed was unbelievably tiny and Noel was sure he'd rested on softer rocks in the Yachas Massif. He slowly sat on the side of the bed and rested his hand against the others face.

The silver haired mage's breath was still strong but relaxed as if he were asleep, which just confirmed Noel's earlier thought. A sedative. Which still didn't make sense when he thought of the attack on the facility. Why were the first few bombs sedative shots and shrapnel? Lack of money? He knew that was important in times like this... but that still didn't make sense. Wouldn't the sedative be expensive? 

Especially because it wouldn't have made a difference if Hope had been in the room with the sedative bomb. Those who had been there weren't only dead but completely mutilated in way that would probably contribute to his nightmares. When the grunt soldier had left to contact command with the codes that Noel had given him. The hunter shut the door and set his larger blade against the bed and leaned down.

"Stop worrying me jerk." He whispered before he kissed Hope's temple, he thought it was too weird to kiss an unconscious person's mouth. Still sleeping rather like the dead, Noel sat back up, his senses still on high alert. He wasn't sure he'd be able to come off of the adrenaline anytime soon as he was still nervous about trusting the grunt.

************************

Hope felt like he was back in crystal. His sleep deep but nerve wracking as half formed phantoms chased him. He jerked awake as if he'd hit the surface after a long time under water and gasped for air as he clutched at his chest. He trembled as he sat there, alone in an unknown place. He closed his eyes and took deep breathes as memory came back still too disoriented to protect himself.

It came as a surprise to him when a heavy hand landed on his shoulder and he looked up to see Noel staring nervously at him before his eyes darted to the door. Hope turned expecting to see someone there but the door was shut. He looked back up at Noel and the hunter shook his head.

"No one enters until I give the go ahead. Are you okay?" The guardian asked quietly.

"No." The silver haired man easily admitted as he stared down at his hands. Part of him was actually surprised to see the pale fingers that he dealt with day in and day out instead of something horrifying such as being a cieth. Noel sat down in front of him and gently cupped his cheeks.

"Hey." The hunter murmured as he moved his partner's head so that their eyes could meet. "You're safe now."

"Really?" Hope muttered back grumpily and then sighed deeply. "I know Snow said an assassination attempt. But an assassination and a bombing are two different damn things."

"Well... considering what the aims of this group maybe be. I think it was effectively both. You were hit with a sedative dart from the explosion. Apparently the first few bombs were filled with them. It couldn't have hit you directly... You wouldn't have survived that." Noel stroked silver hair and then kissed a sweaty forehead.

Hope seemed to deflate after that and leaned into Noel with his arms closed. A weak laugh leaving him as the dark haired man looped his arms around him. He breathed in the smell of Gran Pulse that clung to the hunter's tan skin and let it calm him down as the delayed adrenaline wore off. After a few minutes Noel sighed and kissed his temple.

"An envoy to take us back to Academia should be here soon. We're in a service station. Right now, it's just us and the unfortunate grunt who was manning the station." Noel spoke quietly and soothingly but Hope just now noticed that the other was on high alert.

"Don't trust him?" He asked quietly.

"I don't trust anyone right now." Noel stated. "We have no way of knowing who is what... other then they won't risk an attack on Headquarters."

Hope nodded his agreement and then pulled back slightly. "It make sense though... Headquarters has a lot more protections as it houses the government as well as the research facility. Killing me will only disrupt the cocoon project. Attacking HQ might throw the city into a panic if government officials get into the crossfire."

"Which means that the best attacks are when you are outside..." Noel sighed softly and tilted Hope's head up to kiss his mouth. "Don't scare me like that again you ass."

"You're one to talk. Last I checked, you were the one who through yourself in front of a behemoth." Hope teased back before he kissed Noel again. Now that the adrenaline and terror had worn off all he wanted to do was go home and bury himself in his sheets.

"Sir!" The envoy is here." The grunt from earlier called as he knocked on the door.

"Well enough to fight?" Noel asked quietly and Hope nodded. The scientist appreciated his partner's paranoia as anything could happen on a day as shitty as today had been so far.

********************

Hope leaned his head against the window as they road in the bulletproof hover car. It was quiet inside their isolated car. The military taking no chances with the great 'Director from the Academy's past.' Next to him, Noel was quiet as well, arms curled around his large sword as he listened to the sounds of the car moving. Hope sighed softly, it was odd to him sometimes to realize that Noel could be so quiet and still.

While what he knew about 700AF would constitute such behavior for a hunter. Noel was usually such an explosion of motion and snark that he wasn't yet completely use to the long quiet spells of the man he was falling love with. As the sight of Headquarters came into view he let loose a breath and slowly relaxed. He reached out for the dark haired man's hand and squeezed it gently. Noel returned the gesture and laced their fingers together.

The silence stretched between them as they pulled into the hanger and the doors were opened by members of the Guardian Corps. Hope released his hand immediately, and got out of the car. Outside unsurprisingly were Director Nabaat, General Yurg and Councilor Ulman. Hope nodded at them and then turned to watch Noel get out and sheath his swords.

"I see your young protector has more then proved his worth today." Councilor Ulman stated as she pushed her glasses back into place. A tall and willowy woman, she reminded Hope of some of the school teachers of his youth, though she was much more cunning then any of them could have ever hoped to be. "After you've been to the medical bay I must request that you come to my office. Someone has decided to take credit for the attack as well as claim to have proof you are dead."

Hope swallowed hard at that and resisted the urge to reach for Noel's hand. But, as much as Councilor Ulman was important to his work, the head of the government's science committee, he knew better then to let his guard down around anyone in this place.

"Also." General Yurg stated as she cross her arms and glared at Ulman. The two had never gotten along as far as Hope knew. The general reminding him of Lightning in her firm countenance and permanently neutral face was also a contrast. Shorter then his mentor and psudo sister, she had dark skin and a thicker build then most, but the scientist had no doubts that most of it was pure muscle. "We have started to fan out to see if we can find anything about said attack. It seems that that they must have connections to some of the robberies that happened in the New Town district at the medical facilities."

"The sedative bombs." Noel replied unsurprised and the stern woman nodded, her green eyes flashing on the hunter with respect.

"Thank you for taking care of our Director. We may not be the same Academy of centuries past but he is important to all of us." She saluted and turned for the door. "If I find anything important I'll send a runner."

Nabaat who'd been silent so far sent a fond look after General Yurg and then nodded to the two. "If you'll follow me I'll let the medics get a look at your injuries and then maybe get some food in you? You can't go back to your rooms for a few hours unfortunately as security is searching for bugs and updating your security systems... As I know you appreciate your privacy."

"Thanks." Hope said quickly before Noel could ask questions better stated in private. Nabaat looked over at Ulman who waved her hand politely and turned to head back to the political levels of Headquarters.

Nabaat led them quietly to the elevator and as they rode up to the 500th floor, the beginning of the Research levels Nabaat let out an annoyed breath and rolled his eyes. The hanger was only a fifty floors down as they'd come back in the military wing to not alert others but it was obvious that meeting with the other two women was something he wished he hadn't had to do.

"Yurg is an admirable women if you don't mind the frostbite." He grumbled good naturedly. "But I'd sooner go to Bresha without a guardian unit then spend more time then I have to with Ulman. I swear she doesn't see people anymore just pawns and political gains."

"Well, she is hoping to be the next Chancellor. I would assume that takes quite a bit of ego and calculation." Hope replied as he slid his eyes over slickly.

"And yet, you were technically the head of the government in 10AF right? Wouldn't gaining your favor mean something?" Director Nabaat asked teasingly.

"Now, now... If things worked like way back then you'd be the head of the government and trust me... It's a job you don't want. I was only the defacto head as the Academy was mostly concerned with building a society at the time. As head of Alpha team, that made me the head honcho as it were." Hope was surprised that he'd managed to keep a straight face so far. "But I assure you that fighting on the Archylte Steppe is much more fun then those idiots were."

Both Nabaat and Noel let out surprised laughter at Hope's disdainful look as he made the deadpanned comment. It hadn't really surprised Noel to find that the other thought this way, since Hope seemed more a man of action then talking. And while science wasn't necessarily a battle, he found that it was a very hands on and goal oriented type of work. Something Noel could respect even if he didn't have the fortitude for that type of work.

It seemed like an eternity before they reached Hope's office. The former Director dropped into his chair and leaned forward with his head in his hands. The current Director, Nabaat sat down on the chair across from the other and Noel still keyed up stayed standing as he looked out the grand windows in to the peaceful looking world.

"At the present time, it seems that the group who is taking credit for this is connected to a sect that we believe is in connection to a Paradox." Nabaat murmured. "Their manifesto talked about the glory of the world under a Fal'cie. But there was also something about a place called Augusta Tower..." Nabaat started quietly watching as the two men stiffened. "I take it that this is something from the past?"

"Not the past." Noel murmured quietly. "The present... a different present. I came to 400AF once... but in that timeline... Academia was ruled by a Fal'cie."

"The Fal'cie of Gran Pulse have shown no interest in interfering with human affairs."

"Not a Gran Pulse Fal'cie." Hope's voice was muffled as his head was still resting on his folded arms. Huddled like that his eyes darted back and forth across the ground as he thought back to those original plans. His mind blasted with information about a woman with short yellow hair and a charming demeanor. "A Fal'cie created by the Academy. According to what we learned about that timeline... Alpha Team would have created a Fal'cie... Adam who would have turned on it's creators and then replicated the staff to rule over humanity as Cocoonian Fal'cie once had."

"And by replicate you also mean, that the Academy staff would have been murdered."

"Yes, but a long time ago. " Noel interjected as he looked over at Hope. The silver haired man seemed to be deflating in on himself. Whether it was because he was tired or because they were discussing his death in an alternative timeline. He turned to Nabaat. "Shouldn't we go to the medical bay?"

"Actually we are waiting for Lissa Maudlyn... She is know for her discretion and is someone I trust at a time like this." Nabaat replied as he looked over at Noel. "She should be here soon. Right now I'll leave you to your own devices."

Noel managed to wait until the door slid shut before he shot across the room and laid a hand across Hope's shoulders as he knelt down. He slid the hand up into silver hair and kissed his arm. Silence stretched between them quietly only broken by Hope's harsh breathes. Noel tilted that head slowly, wincing at the still reddish, brown streaks from the blood.

"I'm here." He murmured quietly. "I've got you."

Hope sighed tiredly and slipped down out of his seat and leaned into Noel. A hand clutched at the hunter's shoulder tightly, pale and shaky. The silence stretched on long and Noel shifted into a better position as he held the older man tighter. It was something he was sure they both needed. To feel each other's warmth and to know they were okay.

"I'm scared." Hope whispered and Noel looked down to see the man still curled tightly into him his eyes closed. "If those people want a Fal'cie leader... They won't stop. While there is no Augusta Tower... The is the Central Intelligence Core. Which stores all of the research of all the scientists. The work that was left of Alpha Team's Fal'cie research is still there. It's not much... but if they have access to more research through a paradox..."

"Hey, shush." Noel stated as he kissed the shorter man's clammy forehead. "We'll be fine."

Hope opened his mouth to say something else. Instead he sat up and clutched Noel's shoulders. The hunter tilted his head as he stared at the younger man. Hope slid his hands up and into the younger man's brown hair and pulled him towards him so that their mouths met. The kiss was hard and deep. Noel groaned as he returned the kiss and clutched at the mage tightly.

As they kissed the silver haired men let out all that he was feeling, adrenaline that was rearing it's head as the sedative continued to wear off. The fear he felt for his life as well as the man in front of him. He also felt his own terror from all that had happened today shooting up and wearing down. 

The kiss ended slowly and Hope melted into his partner and closed breathed in his scent. The high now gone, he felt weak and tired. Noel stroked his head, now that Hope was coming down, he could feel the tiredness and ache in his own bones that was now slowly pushing to the forefront.

"Hey, the healer should be here soon. So let's just go sit on the couch or something for a while."

Hope nodded tiredly and Noel was a bit worried about how quiet the shorter man was. He wanted the other to actually respond to him with words but it seemed like it wasn't going to happen. Finally they situated themselves on the couch as they waited quietly for Maudlyn, neither man really able to share their thoughts.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next one. I know I'm not one for a lot of notes but thanks to all the readers for sticking around for this...

General Yurg, as stern as she would have certain little quirks that made her more friendly then she seemed. Such as the bowl of candy that sat on the edge of her desk that Noel noticed with a twitch at the corner of his lips. He was very tempted to comment about it, but he knew that the response probably wouldn't have been nice. Instead he focused more on the General.

Now that he was able to really focus on her face, she was plain faced but her eyes were unusual, wide and purple. Her dark, dark curly hair had shocks of white in it, even though he could see that she wasn't all that old. She gestured the hunter and the director to their chairs. No one else was present for this meeting and while Nabaat would have been all right, Noel found himself glad that there was no one else here.

"Thank you for coming to this meeting even thought it was a little later then I thought you would be." Yurg murmured with a thin little smile. She shuffled the folders on her desk and pulled out a particular one and slid it across the desk. "This is the group that is taking credit for the attack. We've had encounters with them before as they have tried to attack your gravity well."

Hope nodded grimly as he flipped open the folder a copy was handed to Noel and she waited grim faced while they took in the details. The group, which had a very simplistic name: Fal'cie Followers, were definitely a religious cult and it made Hope sick to his stomach. Their goal was to restore Fal'cie rule to humanity in the form of a Fal'cie that it seems they think they could control.

Hope knew for a fact that no one could control Fal'cie... Not even their original makers should one chose to challenge their fate. They had access to part of his research, parts they shouldn't have had access to. It was rather disturbing. It was obvious that they knew they couldn't build one themselves. And even more awkward was the realization that they had tired to gain favor with Pulse Fal'cie who thankfully had no interest in human affairs. 

It seemed that killing Hope was more of a side project for them. As if getting rid of him will allow them to persuade the government to go ahead with their plans. The mage swallowed hard and sat down the folder.

"This is very troubling." He stated quietly. "I don't know exactly how much you know about what I'm doing General Yurg... but I'll be very frank with you. These people... are probably more dangerous then you think. They have access to information from a paradox...Another timeline that shouldn't exist anymore. Which means there is no way of knowing what exactly it is they have or will do."

"I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by that." She replied as she folded heavily callused hands together. "Do you think they have access to this other 'timeline' you speak of in which to get other...things?"

"What I'm saying is... is that I think someone or someones within this group came through a paradox to this group. They were probably already disgruntled with Academia... So to get someone that missed Fal'cie rule. Or more importantly worked in a place called Augusta Tower... They have dangerous information."

"This mysterious Fal'cie project that you alluded to." She continued.

Noel took over for his partner at that point. "The reason we know about this timeline is because I went there. A manmade Fal'cie and A.I. that will eventually take over the Academy and kill all of the higher ups and isolate all matters to Augusta Tower and permit no entrance to civilians. Through that... it will rule in the way the Cocoonian Fal'cie did." Noel commented.

"And the pitfalls of that is?" She asked with curiosity.

"It means that we will become slaves to such an entity that humans shouldn't be allowed to create. Furthermore, if done correctly, it will be able to do the things in which other Fal'cie can... Including making cieth." Hope stared down at the folder quietly. "And l'cie... A super powered army of extraordinary soldiers and monsters that it would use to dominate humanity. And when it has no use for us anymore... eradicate us."

General Yurg swallowed hard and sat back at that explanation. She turned and looked out the window towards Cocoon for a few moments and then looked back at Hope with curiosity before she asked a question that took Hope by surprised.

"You lived in that paradise... don't you miss it?"

"Miss it?" The bitter laugh he released startled her and caused Noel to reach for his hand, appearances be damned. "I miss what it was before I learned... Before my memories were tainted. The Cocoonian Fal'cie ordered an entire city of people... Men, women, children even visitors killed because of Pulse Fal'cie that they themselves had brought into Cocoon."

Yurg moved to speak but Hope silenced her and then continued on. "The Purge I'm sure your history books have told you about. All that for one l'cie and one inactive Fal'cie. And then... The 6 of us were chosen. And I learned that we were nothing but pets. That the very power foundation of Cocoon... Orphan was waiting for us to reach a certain population density so that it could drop Cocoon and kill us all."

"I know that that was the goal of the Fal'cie but-"

"They wanted to bring back their maker... Lindzei. All of the Fal'cie have a focus. To find the gate to the unseen realm. Gran Pulse Fal'cie simply search for the gate as ordered by Pulse... In the ground. In the rivers and oceans. In the sky. Through tests of courage. Fal'cie... seek the end of the world. That is their objective and we can not let those that would attempt to force that ending to gain power." Hope stated firmly as he looked up at the General.

"Then what should we do?" General Yurg asked as she looked at him with concern.

"Crush them." Noel interjected. "If they really have been influenced by a paradox-"

"No." Hope interrupted before Yurg could comment. "He means that you arrest them. Killing them will make their supporters more anxious and fanatical. What we need is to stop those that would do this and also find whatever research they may have and confiscate it."

"That's rather kind for the people who want to kill you." She commented quietly.

"A long time ago... I learned what was important." Hope stood up and nodded stiffly. He felt worn and wanted to rest. He nodded to the general as Noel stood up as well. "We'll talk again later."

*********************************

"So what will we do about the Fal'cie Followers?" Noel asked as they sat with their dinner hours later. He watched as the silver haired man shook his head. "You're just going to leave it to the army?"

"Yes." Hope sighed tiredly and put down his fork. "Our focus is on the new cocoon... I was going to propose it earlier but now that this has happened, I'm going to talk to Director Nabaat about commissioning a team to go explore the 13th Ark... you and I will go with them."

"Is that wise? Throwing ourselves into danger so soon?" The hunter asked quietly as he tilted his head to the side.

"If we go... I can focus on my work but more so... We won't have to deal with this... And that cult," A sour look crossed the mage's face, "won't have access to me."

Noel nodded in understanding even if he felt nervous about the thought of going aboard an Ark. He knew about them from the 'education' that Caius had given him, filled with Pulse weaponry, they had been made for a war. Who's war, no one quite knew, but one nonetheless. He shifted his body slowly and then looked up.

"What are you hoping to find?" He finally asked.

"Something. Many of the mysteries that I've dealt with in my considerably odd life have involved the number 13 and I figure it must be no coincidence that the Ark that has appeared in this time is called the 13th. I'm hoping that it has something to connect all the pieces together."

"That's an interesting idea."

"Aren't you the least bit interested?" Hope picked up his fork again.

"I'm not exactly interested but I do want to know more."

"Neither of us was made to sit back Noel. I need to explore this as best I can."

"Sounds like a plan." The hunter shrugged as he turned his attention back this food.

***************************

"So why the 13th Ark?" Nabaat asked as he looked over the file in front of him. "It seems that it's already outlived it's usefulness by providing us with the ability to lift the new cocoon."

Hope sighed and looked down at the paperwork in front of him. At any moment he would also have to confront Ulman so that he could explain his proposal to her and try to secure the funding that he would need for such a project. Part of him was tempted to run it out of his own funds, he had enough money considering his 'clocked time' working for the Academy but to secure military aid he would need the approval of the government.

He found he terribly missed the old days when it was a matter of making a proposal and then securing a few believers on his team and heading off. This political maelstrom was honestly enough to make him want to tear his hair out and he was the one on the fast track. He pressed his head against his knuckles wishing that Noel was back in the room but he sighed and looked up.

"As I have always been honest with you Nabaat... I want to investigate the 13th Ark because it seems like the right thing to do. Although we have the information about the cores... and even have them now thanks to the efforts of Noel and Serah for my research there is only more questions."

"More questions?" The fatherly man lifted his eyes from his paper to examine him.

"You see... When I was 24 years old... I met Noel for the first time a man from the future. A future still not yet reached to be honest and one we have not yet changed. Cocoon will fall and the lands of Gran Pulse will be destroyed." The silver haired mage paused as he thought of the future that his lover had spoken of to him. "In 700AF the world will be near it's end. Nothing but sand and death in that time. Water sources nearly dried up... Noel as far as he could tell was the last person to exist. The end of humanity."

Nabaat took a deep breath. Hope knew that dual thoughts were waring with the older man's mind. The knowledge that the last human ever walked among them and the desire to study him but also the horror that in 200 years the end of humanity would be here. He was tempted to say something but stopped that thought wanting to wait and see what the director would say and how he would react, but Nabaat also knew that the director was a man who thought out what he would say.

"Was this man your inspiration to build this new cocoon?" He completely though Hope off guard by not asking the question he was prepared for. The other paused as he thought.

"In a way yes." He tilted his head back and stared at the sky. "The fall of cocoon will destroy the world. And I had thought it couldn't fall. The crystal pillar was created by the sacrifice of my friends... two brave women who are sitting in their now... dreaming."

"The two l'cie that made Ragnarok." He nodded. "And the pillar will fall?"

"In 100 years the pillar will break." Hope's tone took a somber tone. "The goal of my research is to secure a new home for humanity... but also to remove their crystals from the pillar if possible. They are still alive."

"You can't be serious." Nabaat looked up at him with wide eyes. "If the history books are correct they've been there alive for 400 years."

"Longer actually." Hope wiped at his eyes for tears that surprisingly weren't there. "Before that year... I don't even remember how long it took anymore... They had been in crystal since the War of Transgression. 500 or was it 700 years previously."

"That's such a long time." Nabaat's eyes turned to the window, the pillar in the distance. "What are you hoping to find on the Ark?"

"While the fall of the crystal pillar is a fixed point in time... There is a person who has interest in basically continuing the Fal'cie schemes." He crossed his arms. "He has plans to ensure that even with the new cocoon... that most of humanity dies for his own purposes."

"And what would those be?" Nabaat asked but Hope shook his head and sighed deeply.

"It's not that I don't trust you... but this person... He is beyond time. What his goals are we aren't sure. But we know that he wants to cause this catastrophic event. While we aren't sure of what his goal is. If the Cocoonian Fal'cie had been right about their goal...Such a massive amount of death will open the gate and bring back The Maker, but who knows really."

"Sorry I'm late." The door breezed open and shut behind Ulman as she walked in and sat down across from Hope. Her teacher like demeanor was always something that was rather comforting despite the obvious schemes that were brewing in her mind. As they prepared for the long meeting Hope found himself wishing that he hadn't sent Noel off to talk to General Yurg about the trip they wished to make.

**************************

Noel was glad to finally be done with his meeting with General Yurg. While he enjoyed spending time with the woman he was still insanely worried about Hope and how he was dealing after the attempted assassination attempt and all the other stuff that he had to deal with on top of it. He tapped the door and let it slide open, seeing the former director lying tiredly on his couch. He let the door slide shut and pressed the locking mechanism as the other had explained it to him.

The silver haired man rolled over and looked at him. He looked tired for lack of anything else to say. A deep kind of tiredness that Noel had recognized from members of his tribe back at the end of days. He approached the other and knelt down beside him and took his hand.

"Hey." The hunter whispered quietly and stroked his cheek. "How are you?"

"Tired." The older man replied as he leaned into the touch. "What did Yurg have to say?"

Noel groaned, not wanting to go there just yet. But the other was waiting expectantly and he gave in. "She thinks it's a good idea. Gets you out of the way, allows time for investigation and also, she said she was interested in their defense system as a way to make an outer defense for the cocoon project if things end up as bad as they think."

"Well that sounds all good." Hope remarked as he closed his eyes. "How many troops are we cleared to take?"

"She and I discussed it for a while and positioning considering the information you gave us about the 5th Ark and decided on 20 to make a base camp and then excursions can be made from there."

"That's a bad idea. And I distinctly remember about asking for only 6 Guardian Corps."

"If we really plan to be there for a long time then we need to be able to combat anything that we find. This isn't 6 l'cie anymore. We need to do things as if we are regular old humans." Noel pointed out quietly.

"You and I aren't normal. I am a powerful mage and you are chosen by Etro. We don't need that many men, let alone a base camp!" Hope sat up and glared at him. "I will go and talk to Yurg myself."

"No you won't." Noel put his hand out. "Yes, we are stronger then them by virtue of fate and the blessings of Etro but what is the point of making this harder then we need it to be. We aren't going there to train and fight our way through. We are going there to study. So take the 20 damn men and maybe a scientist or two."

"You don't get it!" Hope blasted as he shoved Noel's arm aside and headed to the door.

"Then explain it to me. I'm not telling you to lug 20 men through the Ark on your back!" Heatedly angry now, Noel had started to talk with his hands as well, struggling to make a point that his partner was clearly ignoring. "They are just going to make a base camp so that we have a protected place to return to. Is that so wrong?"

"6 men can do that just fine!" Hope shouted as he turned around, a high flush to his own cheeks in anger.

"Not if these monsters are as strong as you think they will be Hope. Talk to me. What's wrong?" Noel bit down on his anger, knowing that it could explode at any minute and tried to impress upon Hope that he just wanted to understand.

"...I just... Please don't make me kill anymore people!" Hope's face contorted in pain as he covered his eyes. "That many people increases the chance of the Fal'cie Followers infiltrating the group. I can't-I don't want to kill another person ever again."

"Hope." Noel approached him carefully and enfolded him into his arms. He didn't know what to say at first. Though it was a distinction that he didn't often make, Noel didn't have a lot of blood on his hands. Well human blood when he thought about it. Trained to be a hunter that was what he did. And even though most of his travels with Serah the closest he'd gotten to people were mostly cieth and well... Caius though he'd never kill the other man if he had any say in it.

In fact as he thought about it he was pretty sure that he'd never killed another person. But if what he'd sort of learned from history was correct. For Hope that was very, very different. He had taken a journey, an impossible quest that had pitted him mostly against people. And while there were monsters to kill in the end...

There had been soldiers and scared citizens. People with families. People with names and homes and somewhere, someplace a person wasn't returning home. Just like Hope's own mother. He hadn't taken the time to think about such things. Although... Alyssa's parting words must have wounded him so much as well. To Hope it probably felt like he had killed her twice.

"I know that you don't want others to get hurt." The dark haired man stated quietly as he pulled back and took Hope's hands. Those hands were soft and pale mostly because the scientist had worn gloves for most of the hard work that he'd done. Especially when his primary weapons were magic and a boomerang. "A person like you... I don't know what to say."

The mage's eyes were red from unshed tears, a face that Noel had unfortunately become a bit familiar with. Wanting to hid and cry, but more determined to do what needed to be done. A look that had probably been learned during his time as a l'cie. Hope looked down at their intertwined hands. Pale and tan mixed together. In many ways he was much softer then Noel... really then many of the people that he considered friends and family.

"I thought... that if we took six we could leave them on deck. The monsters... Pulse Automata for the most part... might be too strong or falling apart." He swallowed hard as he looked away from the other.

"I'm here with you." Noel leaned forward and kissed his temple. "I won't leave you. I..."

Hope cut him off with a shake of the head. He pressed a quick kiss to Noel's mouth and smiled thinly. The silence that slowly fell down between them was comfortable if not sad. Noel pulled Hope close and tucked his head under his chin. How do you console someone about something that wasn't going to change? As long as the Fal'cie Followers were determined to kill Hope, more people would die.

***************************

Noel set his hands on Hope's shoulders and massaged gently as he looked into his partner's eyes. All the preparation that had been going into getting ready for their excursion trip to the 13th Ark had made both of them jittery and nervous. They had fought over the size of the team and if other scientists should even go. Hell, they had fought about Hope's ability to fight. But Noel didn't want the other to think about that anymore.

He smiled thinly and softly whispered an apology. Hope shook his head and reached his hand up to cup the other's face and pressed their lips together. This soft quiet moment alone was something they both sorely needed. The soft kiss turned passionate as Hope slid his tongue against Noel's lips to gain entrance. The hunter took the hint and pulled him forward to curl close and kiss deeper.

"Bed." Hope stated in his best stern voice, the hunter laughed and Hope dug his fingers into the taller man's shoulders. "Hey, who's the leader here?" He asked teasingly.

"Exactly." Noel replied as he pushed Hope backwards to fall onto the bed. "You should know by now, that as your protector... I only follow the orders I deem necessary."

"I don't think that's how it works." Hope stated as he lifted himself up onto his elbows and smiled gently. The mage spread his legs and encouraged Noel down on top of him. "It's been a long time... I'm not I'm not sure I want to."

"Whatever you want to do." Noel stated as he took off his shirt before kneeling between his legs. "Boss." He added sarcastically.

Green eyes brightened considerably and he smacked the taller man's hip roughly. Noel whined lightly, Hope hit far harder then he thought. He started to pull back but the mage sat up and pulled him back. "You told me you didn't have any experience... Have you changed that?"

"Ew Hope... By the time I was old enough for such things there was only Caius and Yuel." He shook his head as his soon to be lover smiled mischievously.

"I don't know... The way you talk about Yuel-"

"That's my little sister and if you keep this up..." Noel trailed off mock threateningly.

Hope laughed and pulled Noel as he laid back down, causing the younger man to lay down on top of him. Noel stared down at Hope in wonder, it felt like they fit together like this and he stared into chrysoprase eyes as the other smiled encouragingly. He moved his hands up to bury fingers into silver hair as he lowered to press their mouths together.

As the soft kiss started hands pressed on his hips, pushing him down into the cradle of the older man's body. With their hips aligned, Noel couldn't suppress the gasp when their hips fit together. Hope rocked up against him and he groaned into his mouth, the answering pant against his lips sent tremors through him that echoed through the other man. Having never experienced such a level of intimacy Noel wasn't really sure that he knew what to do.

The hunter slowly pulled back from the kiss and stared down at the older man. He found that his lover looked all too content at being tangled up with him and felt a smile tugging at his own lips. He leaned down at pressed a soft kiss against the corner of his lips. Hope laughed softly and slid his hands up to press on Noel's shoulder blades.

"I love you." The soft words sent a trill of happiness through him and he leaned down to kiss the other harshly. Hope gasped into the kiss and clutched at Noel tighter. It was obvious they wouldn't do much more tonight and the mage found that this was enough as he closed his eyes and sunk into bliss.


	6. Chapter 5

Noel wasn't sure what he was expecting when they set out for the 13th Ark. Certainly he was expecting danger and to encouter what may or may not be an ancient battalion that was determined to kill anything that crossed it. Or at least just choose to destroy whatever it could. Shifting his grip on his swords as they stood on the wind swept landing platform with nothing attacking but certainly no place to set up a base. Hope seemed fairly certain that the outside would be safe simply because Arks were storage facilities. Either l'cie training grounds or held over armories filled with machines made for some kind of battle in the future that the gods had prepared for.

The question was: what was that supposed battle? The gods were gone if they ever existed and Etro most certainly wasn't going to provide answers considering her ways of going about protecting mankind. Still he felt that everything was utterly ridiculous as the advance force of their group entered the Ark. Hope's face was sour as he watched them go, scouts.

He could tell the other was waiting for problems to happen. Mostly though, there was no problems to be had. They managed to get to a plateau that was safe enough to set up camp and Noel couldn't help but be annoyed at how boring entire first day was. He moved into the main tent. Hope was there, sitting at a portable holoscreen waiting for the actual data center to be set up. Looking into his private files and journals about his time as a l'cie. The older man had informed him that there were two copies: the technical one that he used for work and the private one, filled with his emotions.

The mage looked up at him with a small smile. "You were right. The larger team really is a better idea. Mostly considering that I get to spend less time fighting and more time researching." A deep sigh left the scientists mouth. "There is a place that his been sectioned out in for private conversation and I would like to talk to you there later about some things. I have a few questions."

"About what?" Noel asked as he dropped down across from him. They were the only ones in the research tent right now but it was still loud as tents and other things were being set up. He tilted his head up and looked at the ceiling.

"I want to talk to you about Serah and Yeul. Your past." Hope murmured quietly. "I want to know more about you... and..." He trailed off but Noel knew what he meant. There was much that they hadn't actually told the Academy about Noel's role in time traveling. Especially the more mystical parts of it considering that it could cause problems that Hope didn't want to face.

Such as someone wanting to study the other. Noel nodded in understanding as he stood up and heading for the door. "I want to take a look at the perimeter again. Just hit me up when you want to talk." He called over his shoulder as he waved his hand dismissively.

After the hunter left the tent, Hope put aside the tablet and leaned forward into his arms. He wanted to call Noel back and have the younger man put his arms around him. He closed his eyes tightly and called up the image of his mother and then Lightening and everyone else who meant something to him, until finally Noel. His sweet lover. Even though he knew that they would have practically no private time here he couldn't keep his mind from wandering.

"Excuse me Lead Advisor." He turned to the door and smiled as he saw Captain Arcane approach. She was probably one of his favorite people from his time out in the field. Though he knew people commented on his joy of working with women in the military more then men was honestly from his time as a l'cie. Wanting a Lightning like companion instead of the stuffy and often overly strict or cocky men that reminded him of the people who chased him.

It was terribly problematic to have such an unconventional preference all things considered, but he was simply nostalgic for people like Lightening and occasionally with certain characteristics of the others. Not like Snow but, he had to admit that Noel had some terribly Snow like attributes. If better disguised by actually growing up unlike the nearly unbearable blond.

"'Dr. Estheim." Captain Arcane called again interrupting his musing. "I would like to talk to you."

"Oh." Hope shook himself lightly. "I'm sorry. What can I do for you?"

"We've gotten the entire area secure including the 'private area' you requested. It seems like this upper deck is probably an observation deck for the entire facility. I guess to watch as the l'cie were training?" She tilted her head to the side as she talked, a small datapad in her hand as she looked down at it and the current map they had of the place.

Captain Arcane was an unusual looking woman with long inky black hair. Her eyes were a bright purple and across her skin were an intriguing mix of darker Earthy skin and pale creamy skin. A skin condition that was common among her people. She had at one point probably been totally dark skinned as a child. Her weapon of choice though was a gunblade and that was what had made her one of Hope's favorite people of this time period.

"That would make sense. As you've probably noted in the datafile there were places in the 5th Ark that we were able to rest by virtue or design or simply age." He lifted up his own tablet and scrolled through to his own copy of the file. "We may have to move camp in a week when we have discovered this shaft's pattern of monsters. Many things here will be regenerating. And with the Pulse Automata as we destroy some... Newer ones maybe be built if this facility as resupply abilities."

"All this makes my head spin." Arcane grumped as she glared at him almost as if it were his fault. "Much more work then I thought I'd be doing. Babysitting you is usually a walk in the park."

"Well... I wouldn't want you to be getting too many paid vacations." Hope teased as he stood up. "I do believe that it's getting near dark and I'd like to talk to Noel privately before I turn in."

"I had assumed that a lover's talk could be made in your shared tent?" She asked a small teasing smirk on her face. Hope glared at her and said nothing as he left, her laughter following him out.

**************************

As the two stood in the quiet area. A place where no listening devices were aloud and no one was really close to the area, was perfect for the place that Hope wanted to talk. He sat on the ground uncaringly and leaned into Noel. He tilted his head down and stared at where Noel's hands were clasped around his waist.

"You told me that you know what Caius might be doing." He started quietly, knowing there was no better way to start this conversation. Noel nodded with a vaguely miserable face. He didn't like talking about Caius. There was beginning to be far too much bad blood between them and redeeming Caius seemed to be become less and less a priority to the hunter.

"He wants to kill the goddess... Kill Etro. Caius possesses the heart of chaos and to kill him is to complete his plan mostly. If Etro dies.... no one collects souls." He leaned his head into Hope's. "But I know that he has a time in mind that he wants to die. I think it's when the pillar falls."

"Well in a way that would make sense." Hope replied quietly. "As Snow said, there are two fixed points in timeline. The fall of Cocoon and then when the crystal pillar collapses. Each time when the amount of souls plunging into the afterlife could literally overload Etro. What I'm assuming is... is that each event separately can wound but not kill Etro."

"Well that most certainly is terrifying."

"Yes, but it's also something easier to do in 500AF then before the fall. 6 l'cie with the power of Ragnarok and Caius wouldn't win nor achieve his aim and thus Etro is only wounded not dead. Any other fixed points in time do not offer a large enough loss of life at one time to do what he wishes. And if he paradoxes it into being, you and Serah would have unparadoxed it."

Noel laughed softly, he wasn't quite following everything that the older man was saying but he knew that Hope was relaxed enough with him to do a strange kind of stream of conscious speaking that the hunter found adorable, although sometimes hard to follow. He squeezed the other's waist gently and waited to see what else would fall out of his mouth.

"I think... What we need to do is find a way to contain the heart. In case we have no choice but to kill Caius we need to do it away from those pressure points and place it in the box for safe keeping."

"I guess but Caius steps into other time streams, outside of the true timeline to help make paradoxes. I feel like he could stop us." Noel replied and then he shook his head. "I think I've spent enough time thinking about that."

"One more thing though." Hope turned around and faced the hunter. He took Noel's hands in his and squeezed them tightly. "Caius is immortal... As you've said yourself he has lived through the true timeline since the first Yeul or close to it. I don't quite understand this idea of killing him."

"It's a trick." Noel stated softly, his face looked tired as he leaned back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling of the vast complex. "The only one that can kill Caius is me. Otherwise, he could have just killed himself and been done with it. If Caius doesn't have a successor he won't die. I told you about how he raised me. He raised me to take his place. He wanted to be done with it. And I couldn't do it. I couldn't defeat him. My... unwillingness to kill him..."

"You don't have to say anymore." Hope whispered as he cupped the brunet's cheeks as a few tears sliding down his cheeks. He pulled the other close, resting the taller man's head against his chest. Noel took a few shaky breaths as he clutched the other and then he spoke again once his shoulders shook a little less.

"If I kill him without the full willingness to take his place. Then everything falls apart. If I take on the heart of chaos then I... I'll be the one to watch Yeul die again and again. All I had wanted was to find my Yeul... To make her happy."

Hope didn't say anything. He felt a little guilty for asking his lover to bare his heart like that but he also felt that it was better that he had someone to talk to. He wondered idly if the hunter had told Serah. Often times he wondered what it was like to be Noel. To come from the end of humanity, to have lost so much. Hope had always had a sense of empathy for others that at times could be overwhelming and to truly think of how Noel could feel made his heart ache in a way it hadn't in a long time.

"I love you." The mage murmured as he kissed the top of Noel's head and closed his eyes. "And we'll figure this out."

Noel breathed in deeply Hope's smell as he thought about the older man's words as well as what he knew to be Caius' plan. Even though he knew Hope was trying to find another way it was obvious that his plan involved the hunter killing Caius to remove the heart. And could he do that? That was part of the idea, he had to tear his friend, mentor and in many ways parent's heart out. Part of him wanted to weep bitterly about it, but to do so would probably make things hurt more.

************************

Morning or at least what was probably morning, Noel's internal clock was fine but being inside with no windows didn't help. Hope was still asleep on his arm and he knew that it was earlier then they had intended to get up. Sitting up slowly he stretched his arms about his head and listened to the sounds around him. 

The low electrical hum was annoying but it thankfully didn't affect his hearing too badly. He didn't hear anything too strange. He tilted his head to the side as he was prone to do and then he heard what had most likely disturbed him. It was the sound of rickety armor. Probably a Pulse Automata moving around. They were all so old that the sound of metal grinding against metal commonly followed them. They were probably on the platform below as nothing was sent out here. And the guards would have alerted them.

"Noel?" Hope's voice shattered his concentration and he turned to look at the older man looking up at him sleep mused and heavy lidded.

"It's nothing... Scrap metal grinding my nerves." He laughed softly and pushed at his partner's shoulder so that he didn't get up. Hope's eyes slid back shut, not really awake. It always surprised him that Hope's reflexes could awaken one second and fall away the next. Although he guessed he could understand from what little he knew about his time as a l'cie. Hope's hand blindly reached out and grabbed Noel's pulling him back down.

"'m cold." The silver haired man mumbled as he closed his eyes and nearly falling asleep again.

Noel smiled indulgently as he laid back down and pulled the mage into the circle of his arms. What alarmed him was nearly forgotten when the wince of cold metal sounded louder then before. Not too long afterwards Captain Arcane's voice could be heard yelling at her underlings.

"I think what you heard wasn't an automata." Hope replied as he brushed the sleep from his eyes and stood up. At the good natured cursing that could be heard both of them realized that it must have been some of their own equipment rebelling instead of some kind of immediate danger. Noel nodded his agreement as he looked towards the flap that served as the interest to their temporary home.

"Do we need to go out there just yet?" Noel asked after a few moments once the cursing died down. He turned to his partner only to find Hope turning off the alarm and reaching for his over shirt.

"It was most likely something of ours, which means Arcane is about to come in here and cuss at us next." The silver haired man murmured as he got dressed. Noel nodded as he reached for his own shirt.

The hunter had to admit as he watched his partner get dressed and comb his ridiculous bed head away that his 'uniform' for being out in the field was much better then his Academy uniform. Use to the fancy jacket with buttons upon buttons and more white then such dirty work desired. He found that he was very pleased with the white undershirt, black body armor shirt with a dingy old jacket that must have been very well loved. Hope had just given up on his hair when the flap moved and Arcane entered and dropped down in the 'sitting area' with a large canister that Noel couldn't decide if it was full of coffee or booze.

"Hell's bells and other ills." She muttered as she wrestled it open. "Those brutes out there have no respect for science."

Hope let out a good nature laugh as he sat back down next to Noel and leaned back on his hands. He probably should have explained to Noel about the type of person Arcane was, but he was sure the two would get along fine. He waited for her to speak again, but she currently drinking her coffee as quickly as she could with it probably being brought directly from the caf.

"They broke the decoder." She finally spoke. "Apparently one of the newbies wanted to see what it would translate the old Pulsian script into... And.....promptly busted the shit out it when it didn't work quickly enough." She added a few more choice words under her breath..

"Don't worry." Hope shrugged his shoulders. "I can probably fix it. I'll take a look at it before the afternoon excursion."

She nodded and turned to look at the still silent hunter. Noel was actually not looking at either of him. His mind, not really there at the moment. He had tuned out their conversation for the sake of listening to the sounds of the camp waking up. And also, for the general sounds of the Ark. She was about to say something but Hope raised his hand and she nodded and got up to leave.

Hope lowered his hand onto Noel's and watched as the hunter closed his hand over his and returned to stillness. It still jarred him a bit, to see Noel fall so still, but it was also a bit comforting. Noel was listening, listening to everything that a human's limited ears could pick up. And well, probably a bit more then others could hear in this time, considering what 700AF would have looked like. He imagined that the hunter was listening to his breath, maybe even his very heartbeat.

In a way, it made Noel seem vulnerable and Hope wanted to protect the side of him that required quiet and stillness. Not use to such a lack of movement, the older man pulled away after a few moments and got up to go check the equipment before someone came to retrieve him and jarred the other out of his morning routine. 

The air inside the Ark wasn't as stale as Hope had thought it would be. Some kind of ventilation system ensuring that fresh air was constantly pumped in, probably for some kind of bioengineered creatures that they had yet to see. He approached Captain Arcane where she was sitting against the main computer of the command center.

"How bad does it look?" He asked as he looked over at the smaller decoding machine that was roughly as tall as Hope's hip.

"Welp, I don't know too much about how these things are made." She scratched the side of her nose. "I just know that the receptors are blown."

Hope grumbled in good nature before he walked over to the device and settled down in front of it. Decoder was kind of a short hand name for the machine as it often did much more then that. It took pictures of text, analyzed it, and decoded it. But, it also did the same things for other types of objects such as flesh, stone, etc. Hope looked around to make sure that no one was watching him too closely before he grabbed his tool kit and with one hand dug around in the box will he placed the other on the machine.

Instantly, in a way that he still didn't quite have the words to explain that machine became 'alive to him.' He listened to it as he learned what wires had been broken and relays snapped. He grabbed the proper tools and began to open the machine up. Going where he was directed with images and mental suggestions. Fixing the damage and soothing the machine's 'worries' as he went. It took him a little over twenty minutes for the primary fixes. Later he would have to go and get the new parts that it required later.

Once down with his assurances to the machine that it would be better he set his tools down and stretched his arms up above his head. Arcane was gone now, probably to start laying out orders for the afternoon so that the excursion team could get underway. He pushed himself into a standing position and looked around for the next task he might need to complete before he left. Finding nothing too emergent, he headed towards the 'stockhouse' a tent full of spare parts and gear they might need and placed the order for the parts he needed to finish the decoder.

"Will it be all right Director to go without the decoder?" Sturk, the man in charge of parts asked as he looked down at the list he was writing. "This thing won't be up and running without some of this."

"And that's fine. I can mark places on the map to return to with the decoder. Today we will probably be too busy fighting and doing cartography anyways." Hope replied as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, seriously...do you really think that this'll help with the new Cocoon?" Sturk asked as he laid a heavy arm on the counter. "I've heard that this is just a way to keep you hidden away from those terrorists."

"It will help." Hope replied firmly. "This Ark...would have been built before the original cocoon or there abouts. A form of technology that has no need of Fal'cie to stay afloat much like the other gravitation cores. But also, if the mythology is right, this is made to withstand a war of the gods. This can help us figure out how to build the outer walls for optimal protection. After all... We don't want to fully copy Cocoon's blueprints. That was made to fall and provide the optimal amount of death."

Sturk shuddered at the thought, but nodded his understanding. "Sometimes I think we forget that you have some serious interest in never relying on crap like that again."

"You couldn't be more correct." Hope smile bitterly before he turned to head towards the door. "If you can get those ready for me by the end of the afternoon excursion I'd be grateful."

"Yessir!" Sturk saluted as the senior official left.

******************************

According to what Hope had written about the 5th Ark hundreds of years ago, there would be separate compartments filled with different types of living war machines. While there was no surety of what a normal entrance would look like, Hope and the other l'cie had been whisked there by Barthandulus' whim. The exploration team consisted of five people. Arcane, two grunts, Noel and Hope. Noel wasn't too sure of going out with such a small team, but the scientist had pointed out that most areas would be hallways or train transports. Not really big enough for a large mobile team.

"It looks more like ruins." Arcane commented as they left the central area that consisted of their base. The morning crew had cleaned out most of the monsters and jammed the replicators to make things easier. Things Hope wished they could have done during his original experiences with Arks.

"In a way... I guess they are ruins." Hope shrugged. "Filled with Pulsian tech as well as whatever else the Fal'cie put into them... Somewhere though... The thing that we need should be inside the 'city core'."

"City core?" Asher, a grunt asked as he looked over. "Just what are you expecting to find here?"

"Inside the 5th Ark, a mobile artillery that I believe was air based much like this one had been stored below Eden durning the War of Transgression. We... We exited over the ruins of a city. I assuming an ancient city populated by people used to build some of their machines."

"You think that human societies once lived here?" Arcane asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Maybe? According to Fang and Vanille though, during the War... they wouldn't have had access to them. They were for something bigger."

A silence fell across the group at that and they walked quietly ahead. Noel kept his ears open. He could hear distant cries of animals and the occasion grinding of machinery. Hope looked up at Noel who had taken point. He looked down at his boomerang in hand and sighed softly. What he wanted to find here, what he hoped was here was a risk. And also against what he wanted to do, but he needed help and Fal'cie tech seemed to be the only way he could find a way to save Noel. 

Most of the walls were a rusty color and occasionally broken panels hanging opened revealed relatively sophisticated machinery for what it was worth. Finally they reached a computer terminal that looked older then the earth. At least to Noel.

"Probably can't work that shit without the decoder." Hutch grumbled as Hope approached it.

"I have a good understanding of old tech. Just wait a moment." Hope replied as he settled his hands onto the old terminal. It had a small screen and a full keyboard as he looked over it with his hands still on it. He listened carefully, tuning into the machine as he did with the things he worked with on at the academy. Instantly a map was revealed on the screen and he accessed the panels as he listened to what little the machine could give him. "I can get a map of the place... but I'm not sure it's safe to access anything else."

"A map is mostly what we need." Arcane replied as she leaned against a wall. "It's only day one so no hurry."

Noel nodded his agreement and then went still. "What kind of animals can we expect again in this place?"

"Mostly Pulse Automata. And pretty much anything that you can find in the Mah'habara Subterra. Although they probably would be sightly different." Arcane replied.

"...You can also find battle ready monsters." Hope replied as he pulled his hands off the computer and assumed a battle stance. "Something that quiet... I'm thinking a behemoth hybrid or a-"

"SHIELD LIZARD!" Noel cried as he rolled to the side from the thundering lizard.

The lizard had it's shield pulled back as it launched at him again and knocked in a wall. The floor was too heavy for the beast as it formed it's shield.

Arcane released a battle cry as she launched at the creature, craving off scales from the beast as Hope stepped backwards and took a calm stance. Noel dived between the mage and the lizard, brandishing his larger sword as a shield as he watched Arcane manage to cleave off another section of scales as the two grunts took different sides, aiming their guns to shoot at it's legs to try and put it off balance.

"Thunder." Hope spoke calmly, lightening hissing through the air past Noel's left side.

The hunter took off after the bolt watching as it shoved the creature up in the air and slashed at it's soft underbelly. Another command from the mage and fire was lighting up the creature's side keeping it pushed back before an aero knocked the creature to the left as the the hunter jumped back. As he rolled back the ground gave a sickening lurch.

"The beast is too heavy. Retreat." Hope called as he backed up. "I can keep it back with magic, report to my position."

Arcane was the first to come back, cleaving off part of the beast's arm as she passed by it, all swift reflexes. "That should slow it down." She said as she rested in a low battle stance watching as the two grunts pulled back firing rounds as they went. Noel set to take the rear. He paused as he transformed his swords into a spear for a quick exit.

"Hope, aero." He called as he prepared to run. The magic soared past the hunter as he slammed the spear into the beasts stomach using it as a push off point. As he launched back towards the group, the creatures arm caught his leg sending him flying into a wall.

A low grunt left the hunter as he sunk down the wall into a slumped position the wind knocked out of him. He pushed himself up quickly but it was too late as the floor began to give under the giant lizard. Arcane put out her hand as the floor gave in with a metallic whine dragging down monster and man alike. Once it was over she looked back at the two grunts and Hope.

"You have the map right? What's another way down?" She asked quickly but Hope shook his head.

"It's not that deep of a drop. If he's alive that monster most likely is and we don't have time." The scientist replied as he approached the sinkhole. "This places is not an endless well of canyon sized rooms. More like a complex maze from what the map looked like. I'll go down and heal him and bring him back up."

"I'm not sure that's safe." Arcane muttered quietly. "I would feel better if one of them or even I went."

"Who's good enough here at magic to get him up?" Hope bit back as he turned from the chasm. "Look, I'm not trying to undermine you but I'm point for mage here. We didn't bring anyone else because we weren't expecting to encounter anything that would move from it's position. It'll take too long to go get another mage and if he's down there's no way to carry him back. So lower me down and if it's more then we can handle at the very least I can get him up and we can escape."

Arcane looked away angrily but motioned for Asher to latch Hope up and lower him down. She knew that he had more reason to go down then the 'common sense reasons' that he set up. She knew that it was because his boyfriend was down there and worst, she knew that should would do the same thing. Hope gave her a thankful nod as he shrugged off his jacket and secured the belt and line around his waist. He approached the hole and turned.

"When we're ready to go I'll give a tug." He said as he waved the second belt at him. "It shouldn't take too long."

And then he turned and reaching the wall where Noel felled he examined the ground and noticed that there were a few torn notches. Finding nothing else that he could use he tightened his gloves and began to slide down and moved his hands to catch the grooves to slow his descent. When he arrived down to the lower level he saw that the shield lizard was definitely not a problem. Impaled in random places by the debris that fell before it. He looked around the dank room. It was small with a door, most likely some kind of storage room. He keep his alert, spell on the edge of his lips until he saw Noel's spear.

Forgetting himself for a second he shrugged off the belt and ran for the spear. Picking it up, he noticed that just beyond another section of rubble sat Noel, looking worse for wear. He approached the man quickly and rolled him over.

"Fuck that hurts." Noel groaned with a rare sour disposition.

"What hurts?" Hope asked as he pressed his hands gently against Noel arms and chest.

"My leg got hit pretty hard on the way down. Not broken I think." The hunter groaned and Hope pulled him up against his chest. The silver haired man kissed his partner roughly and sighed deeply.

"Don't you scare me like that again... asshole." Hope cursed and kissed him again.

Noel chuckled lightly against his lips. "I think I still win for the greatest scare after carrying around your unconscious body."

"I can even the odds by knocking you out?" Hope replied with a sly grin as he moved a hand lowly down his lover's body before reaching his leg and casting a quick cure.

"It's going to take more then that to get me up." Noel replied with a suggestive smile. The dark haired man pressed up against his lover with slightly renewed mobility. Hope smacked his hurt leg lightly before pressing more healing magic into him

"Maybe later." Hope spoke softly and with promise. "Come on."

Getting back to the line was slow going. Too afraid to press to much healing power into the leg without checking and cleaning it. Hope used one last healing spell to get the other up and moving. Once they got to the line, Hope secured himself into the one on the line and put the other on Noel.

"Wrap your arms around me so this will go easier." He murmured as he reached a hand up and tugged three strong times. Noel smiled and practically snuggled into him. The scientist laughed as he wrapped an arm around him.

Once they were up Noel was forced onto a stretcher by Arcane that Asher and Hutch carried. She glowered at Hope as they began to walk back, taking rear as Hope was forced to take point. Going back to camp was silent with very few monster attacks. Noel felt ridiculous lying on the stretcher but Arcane was having no buts about anything. Luckily they were only about an hour away from camp. Once the reached it, managing to skirt certain monster grounds courtesy of the map that Hope had gotten.

Back at camp, Noel was taken to the med tent and Hope went to the research tent to upload the map into the system to mark their plan. As he analyzed the data he waited for Arcane and the blow up that he knew was coming. When the flap opened and she walked in and sat down he knew that everyone in camp would probably hear everything she had to say by the end of it.

"I want to start out with one question." Arcane murmured calmly. "Who controls this mission?"

"Lydia." Hope started breaking out of military rigor to talk to her, knowing it was the best way to appeal to her. He had once tried to talk to her the way he talked to Lightning and found that that didn't work at all. "I'm not here to be babysat. I am a capable fighter."

"YOU ARE THE SCIENTIST THAT IS HERE TO BE PROTECTED!" She growled as she slammed her hands on the the table. "You are expected to follow my orders and keep yourself safe."

"Yes, let's do that. Put the most capable mage in the entire camp on the sidelines because of the rules of the government. I am not just a scientist. I am a combat specialist and you know this. Unless you plan to put me on the medical list and keep me from going out into the field you will have to deal with the fact that I am on the team."

"Don't you try to quote code at me! I don't care if you are couching it in friendly speech. You are my charge! Going alone is against the rules too!"

"Who was the most capable person to get someone up and moving? What would have happened if you had sent Asher or Hutch down there and the shield lizard was still alive? Pulled him back up and leave Noel to fight alone. Only me and Boak are capable of battle and healing magic. Even if we equip manadrives-"

"I know, I know... They aren't sufficient. They can only control one vector of magic." She turned her head away and sighed deeply. "I don't know why I try when you're fool head will do anything it wants."

"Lydia Arcane." Hope shook his head with a smile. "I was a l'cie once... I'm the last person here you need to worry about. I feel like I tell you that a least ten times every mission we have together."

She shrugged idly and stood up. "I give... for now."

"Arcane... I would have gone down for anyone... Not just Noel." He felt the need to add that one, worried that she thought he was just randomly risking himself without prior thought of what it meant.

"I know that... You're the kindest person I've ever met Hope Estheim. Never change." She let a heavy hand drop on his shoulder and turned to head out. "I think that boy's almost finished up. So you two can get back to NOT giving me gray hairs if you please."


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right... I have a goal to update this every 2 weeks. We shall see how it goes. It's also getting a bit longer then I thought it would, so I might revise how many parts it's supposed to be...

"Jeez." Noel groaned as he lowered himself to the mat and closed his eyes. While not broken in any places he was deeply bruised from his fall and had to endure more healing potions and spells then he'd ever wanted to. Enough to get him back up to snuff but healing required time to fully work. He needed a good night's rest or two to give his body time to move through the accelerated healing process. At least the ugly purple and yellow marks were gone. He closed his eyes and took as deep a breath as he could.

"Hey." Hope called as he entered the tent and sat down next to Noel. It was late now, without sunlight really filtering in but the clocks said that it was around 11 at night. Noel grumbled and Hope laughed softly as he moved past his own sleeping bag to approach the hunter. He kicked off his boots and slid under the bed roll and squeezed into the small space.

"Hey! You have your own." The hunter grouched as he was tugged close, half onto the mage.

"You say this to the person who's going to make you feel better." Hope let out a teasingly long suffering sigh. "Relax." Hands massaged Noel's shoulders and the other sighed softly at the gentle touch.

Hope smiled at the way the hunter relaxed into him, his head lying on the pillow and his shoulder resting over the smaller man. He kept his arms around the hunter working his way gently down his back before he shifted them gently so that the taller man was on his back with Hope on top. He laid his hands gently across the younger man's chest and down across muscled abs. Noel opened his eyes and looked up at Hope as a cool breeze settled between them as Hope sat up.

Hope gave a reassuring smile as he slowly untied the string on his pants and slowly eased them down. He smiled fondly at the sight of skin revealed watching as Noel blushed and looked away. They had yet to be fully naked before each other. Seeing the other's nervousness, Hope paused and grasped thin fingers under his own shirt and took off the tank top before returning to his exploration. Noel's hands came up immediately to touch the silver haired man's strong arms.

"You do realize that we're not exactly alone." Noel whispered and Hope laughed softly as he pulled the younger man's pants down around his hips before settling down beside Noel and curled up against the other.

"Then I guess you have to be quiet." Hope's smile was almost devious as he slid his hand back down Noel's body to rest his hand on erect flesh before he paused as Noel tensed up. "You okay? I just wanted to take your mind off the pain a bit."

"Fine." Noel breathed slowly through his nose. "Just... Never had someone else... there you know?" Noel grabbed for Hope's sleeping bag and pulled it over them. Hope laughed and allowed the other to hide them almost fully under the sleeping bag shuffling around until Noel's bag was laid out and Hope's was over them like a blanket. Hope then pulled Noel back to him and took him back in hand.

"Is that better?" He asked quietly into the other's ear. "It's just you and me... Relax."

Noel tried to take a deep breath but Hope's hand was moving and he couldn't help the groan that left his lips. The silver haired man made some sort of soft noise in response and Noel moved closer, hissing in pain. Hope pushed him back down and moved over him more. Careful not to press to hard as he shifted his position. He licked the corner of Noel's mouth and murmured softly into his ear.

"Shhh. I'm right here. I've got you." Hope teasingly licked Noel's ear hearing the hunter gasp and tremble. Even though he couldn't see it, he knew that a red blush was spreading across his cheeks. The hunter both embarrassed and intrigued. "Just relax."

Noel's hands groped at the smaller man as he bit his own lips. Still somewhere in the back of his mind, he was aware that they were not alone. Just beyond the little blanket cocoon that they had made were the thin 'walls' of the tent and the rest of the base camp. He pressed his face into silver hair as he let out a shaky moan in orgasm.

"That's it... relax." Hope murmured gently and kissed Noel's mouth slowly. As the other came down from his high, Hope threw back the covers a bit and grabbed a towel and wiped his hands off. He cleaned Noel up a bit and pulled his pants back up as the hunter stared at him drowsily. "I was hoping that would take your mind off the pain. Seems like it did more then that." He teased.

"Com'ere." Noel mumbled sleepily.

Hope chuckled before he moved and slid up against his lover and slowly pulled the blankets back up. Noel fumbled against him weakly, barely awake between the medicines he'd taken and his orgasm. The smaller man moved his lover's hands around his waist and laid his head on his chest. Noel mustered up to make some kind of protest. He could feel Hope half hard against his thigh but the other pressed down on his arm.

"Not right now." Hope murmured against his chest. "Just rest now."

************************

While not having set a morning routine of any sort in the one or two days that they'd been in the camp. Hope was not expecting the morning he got. He was still curled up into the hunter. Who was an early riser. The arms wound around him and had pushed his clothes mostly off. The younger man kissed his forehead and then pulled his head up. Hope stared up at him and then a kiss was pressed to his lips.

"Can I?" Noel mumbled against his lips hands sliding up and down Hope's sides. Hope trembled at the thought but pushed back to look at the clock. It was ungodly early. Noel was always up at dawn regardless. And Hope really didn't want to explore the physical parts of their relationship now. He was about to say 'no' but Noel was looking at him with eyes fulling of pleading and promise. His right hand moving closer towards the goal.

"I should say no." He whispered against Noel's mouth. "We'll have plenty of time for this when we get back."

The pout that Noel gave him was impressive to say the least. The other carefully rolled them over, he must have still been sore. After a moment of confusion and tangled legs as they attempted to fit together, Hope made the mistake of opening his legs and allowing the other to settle there, hardness against hardness. Hope wrapped his arms around Noel and after a moment of movement clutched the younger's shoulders.

"Take control Noel." He whispered as he attacked the other for another kiss. "It's your turn."

The other made an affirmative noise, and Hope had to quell down the urge to take control of the situation. It was in his nature now, to lead or at the very least subtly lead. But the other part of him knew that learning was best done via self exploration. And the thought of Noel exploring his body sent a wide range of shivers down down the silver haired man's body. It took a second or two for Noel to start to move. 

Hands splayed on Hope's shoulders before they moved down his body brushing over different spots. Finding the smaller man's nipples he stroked them gently. And then leaned down to kiss them as well. Hope moaned lowly and clutched at Noel's shoulders. It was a sensitive spot for him and there were many more for the other to find. It increased Hope's excitement, he wanted to do the same for Noel but he would have to wait until Noel wasn't in pain anymore.

And then the thoughts flew out of his head when Noel decided to suck on one of his small nipples. He moaned quietly and pressed on the taller man's head. Hands slid down and grabbed his hips and moved him roughly against the firm body above him and Hope threw his head back gasping. He didn't want to make too much noise.

It didn't take Noel long to get the rest of their clothes off and skin on skin contact was threatening to be Hope's undoing. If Noel didn't start to do something soon he would take control and get things moving in the direction he wanted it to. The hunter smiled at his obvious discomfort and crash their hips together again. Hope groaned and grasped ahold of Noel's hips. He couldn't help himself anymore. He guided the hunter into a stead rhythm, letting out a satisfied groan as the hunter got the hang of it and took over again.

"Not... not enough." Hope gasped as he moved against the other and Noel grinned at him again before a devious look crossed his face. Slightly afraid, Hope wasn't prepared for the hunter to shift, resting on his forearm by the silver haired man's head and worming his free hand between their bodies. It wasn't easy for the hunter to get a grasp on both of them, let alone develop a rhythm. But it was more then enough considering how close they both were. 

When orgasm did hit, Hope couldn't keep the soft whine as quiet as he would have liked it, the flush of arousal quickly turning to embarrassment even as Noel's strong arms cradled him as the younger man fell into his own orgasm pushing against him roughly. The groan against his shoulder was rough and sent warmth through his lower belly even though it was impossible to get another erection so fast. He pulled Noel down against his chest, unmindful of the mess between them. At least for now. Even though nothing bad had happened Hope felt that he needed the reassurance that being held by Noel could give him.

*****************************

Hope stretched his arms up above his head as he sat tiredly in the central tent that served as the command center. The morning exploration team had come back with no real trouble. Managing to find the pen where the Shield Lizards were and blocked off the eroded part that allowed them to escape into the hallways. It was more then he'd thought they'd get as well as the data that they'd filled the decoder with. The silver haired man pressed his hands to his forehead and closed his eyes. Most of the data that had been collected were maintenance codes, map alignments and notes of the design. Nothing on the city core.

In the 5th Ark they hadn't gone to the city core at all. So it wasn't like he really knew what he was looking for. But there had to be something. Some kind of blueprint on how the Fal'cie made it. If it all was built through sheer imagination and even Cocoon had had plans and details that he'd been able to capture to help build the new one. He was screwed. He need something, anything that would allow him to help Noel. 

The mage searched deep inside his thoughts. What was it that he wanted to do. Make the new ark-like cocoon to store all of humanity for when the crystal pillar shattered. A plan that was going along fine and seemed to be set up to work perfectly as long as they kept Caius from interfering. A project that would still take a least another 100 years to finish. And then stop Caius, which involved somehow stopping him, trapping him and/or removing his heart.

Two things that would pain Noel.

And then there was why he'd wanted to come to the 13th Ark. He had made his proposal based on finding out more information about the Arks to help with building the new cocoon's outer shell. But what he really wanted, why he was here had more to do with Noel then anything else. The enclosure technology of an Ark was meant the withstand the end of the world. Probably even meant to travel to new worlds. It was the perfect thing to seal away Caius. But the mysteries within the Ark would also hold more information about l'cie. About why this cataclysm was so important that everything seemed to be working for it. The Fal'cie of Cocoon, Caius and even Noel who Caius was trying to get to unleash chaos on the world.

He knew that this wasn't Noel's endgame. But he also knew the more that changed in the past, the more the other forgot. Even now, as Serah and Snow worked their way through the timeline, trying to undo the paradox that made Serah a Time Maiden was still affecting his memory. But his memory of the future. Not now. The 18 years that he'd lived in the future were slowly eroding. And he could tell even if the other was afraid to admit it or talk about. He could tell as Noel's mannerisms changed.

His quiet pauses in morning and sometimes at other times during the day that Hope had once thought was just the hunter listening to the world. He wondered if the other was also gathering himself. Struggling to remembered things that were important to him. There was a wealth of knowledge in Noel. History lessons that spanned nearly all of history as well as fighting and whatnot. All to replace Caius. And considering how powerful Caius' magic was. Hope feared that it was only Noel's personal memories being affected.

All the better to make him forget his reasonings for not trying to kill Caius. To become what Caius wanted him to be. So focused on his goal, Caius had probably forgotten his own personal past, a time before he'd been the undying guardian. Or at least a time before he'd lost his sense of sanity. At least that's what Hope thought. And he didn't want to watch Noel go down that path. 

Although there was another direction that things could take. While not a worst case scenario it was also unpleasant to Hope. After all, who knows exactly what Noel had forgotten about his tribe, his home, and the relationships therein. Hope had a hunch that what Noel felt for Yeul was more then platonic even if still a rather childish type of love. And the mage found that he didn't want to test that bond. Losing Yeul had been what had sent Noel traveling through time, but was it because he lost his last friend and family? Or was it because of love in a way that Hope wouldn't be able to touch?

And that was a test Hope didn't want. He didn't know if he had the strength to let Noel go now that he had him. Especially if it was to someone who didn't exist yet. Although when he thought about what Noel was going through to reunite with the other, he knew he had no chance even if it was just friendship. Part of his goal was to change time to what they thought it should be. And if the logical side of him won, it meant that Noel would go to 700AF to be with Yeul and Hope...

He would be alone again. As much as he'd come to rely on Nabaat, Arcane, Yurg and a whole host of other people in this timeline. They were acquaintances, friends at best. He couldn't lose Noel if he didn't gain back Light and the others. And even then he didn't know if his heart had room for two such big holes. The one from his mother was already large and at times horribly painful, even now. The one from his friends had been healing at the thought of being reunited.... that was what had led much of his research.

And the motivations that he'd left behind. Those he'd rather not think of, but he found himself pressing his hand against that door and he knew that opening it would put him down a destructive path that only few had seen before. Most of them dead and gone. He had an inkling that Snow knew, but Snow knew a lot more about him then most. And with that big dumb hero gone he wouldn't have to worry about confrontation. Noel would only figure out after it was too late. And no one else would ever-

"Director?" He jerked up and looked at Arcane with wide eyes, he'd been so deep in his own head that he hadn't heard her enter. "Thought we'd lost you there for a second. Go take a walk, clear your head."

He nodded at the order and thinly veiled mothering. He headed for the door and then looked back at Arcane and a few more of the camps leaders as they laid out maps for a meeting that was more about strategics and not really the part he was involved in. Nothing was simple in his life anymore and part of him missed that dearly. Outside Noel was walking the perimeter and checking the specs with the map from what he could see. Hope paused and though to walk to him but changed his mind and headed for the quiet space. No one was there luckily as he knew that many others used the space to catch time alone as well.

He sat down on the ground, pulled his knees up to his chest and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and thought back. He went so far back in his memory that he thought of his mother. Conjured the image of her standing before him, brave and beautiful. She would have been a good l'cie he thought. But, losing him would probably have wounded her too much he decided. He remembered when Sazh had spoken about what life would be like if he'd lost Dajh. His own wife already gone. Hope swallowed hard. What did he have left?

He had Noel, he knew that, but he also knew that keeping Noel was a tight wire act. The other could go back to his own time, disappear from existence, leave him for Yeul... All good possibilities. The problem with loving Noel, was that the hunter had ruined him. Before he was doing everything for the sake of bring back Lightning, Fang and Vanille and then Sazh and Dajh when they disappeared. Until everyone was gone and he was the only one left. And that's really the way it stood now. He was all that was left.

He sighed softly and stood up. He needed to continue his research. The only way to stop Caius was to figure out how to seal him or at least the heart. And then he would go from there.

*****************************

Noel stood on the perimeter of the camp feeling rather useless. After the events yesterday he and Hope both had been taken off of today's exploration team. And he hated it. He wanted to be out there, working to achieve their goal. Downtime was really Noel's enemy. He couldn't keep himself occupied like Hope who had data to analyze and organize. Even sending communications back and forth with those working on the cocoon project was more useful then what he was doing now. 

All Noel had was the time to think about the past... or the future considering the time period and feel the growing gaps in his memories. It wasn't an organic thing like when they changed Hope's memory the first time and everything was merely forgotten and changed. And it wasn't a fluttering, slow sensation like the mage's memory of Alyssa. No it was stark black spaces in his memories. Time never regained in other ways. He had forgotten quiet a few of the people in his village. And events that were important to Noel Kriess of the Farseer Tribe. He couldn't remember his first hunt, his father's name.

And more painful then most he could feel the darkness beginning to edge around his precious memories of his grandmother and the things she had taught him. The pain of the impending loss hurt him. He had wanted to talk with Hope about it, but couldn't find the words. He didn't want to see the look of worry that might cross Hope's face. After all, if he forgot about the future what was preventing him from forgetting about now? What was he really worth to the missions without the knowledge and experiences that made him who he was?

It made him antsy to complete the goal. Without his memories he wasn't sure what type of person that he would be. He knew that Caius habitually rejected memories... A mind, even one of an immortal wasn't vast enough to hold all the he knew that the other had seen and experienced. He wondered if that was the point. To make him like Caius and he vowed that he would never become like that. For the sake of Yeul.

**********************************

"Tomorow we are going to set about for sector 5A." Hope spoke as he looked over the hologram map. "While it is not the city core. It will be an important space for us to reach. The city core is just beyond sector 9C which means we need to get closer. Our goal from there will be to try to find a place in 9C that we can use as our second base. Hopefully we can also find a means of leaving from there as well."

"What do you mean by leaving that way? Wouldn't retracing our steps be safer?" 

"Probably not." Arcane spoke up as she stared at the map. "This place is a death trap for those of us without l'cie powers. The longer we spend the worse. Sector 9B is close to the surface. We can probably set up a ground charge... Blast our way out if need be. It would be easy to install a lift."

"That sounds dangerous." Noel cut in anxiously. He wasn't one for explosions and his face fully showed his distaste.

"What I'm worrying about." Hope interjected smoothly and mostly with caution in his voice. "Is that we will find things that don't want to be found in the City Core. Like I said, in the 5th Ark we exited over it. A giant crumbled ruin. But Arks are mostly unknown. Anything could be in there. A quick exit will be our best bet."

"And if it's a Fal'cie?" Lune asked a tall women with a childish face she looked around at the others. After all, it was on everyone's lips but no one wanted to say it.

"There should be no Fal'cie within here. Fal'cie usually stay away from the Arks just like everyone else. Until the time of battle comes. If one is here, we will not engage. Since it will be a Pulsian one, they probably will want nothing to do with us." Hope replied solemnly. There was no one here today that was more familiar with the creatures then him.

"Sounds about right." Boak replied calmly. He was a solider yes, but also knowledgable about research, useful for scientists working out in the field for long stretches of time.

Arcane glared Hope down, she knew that he was anxious. He wanted to sneak into the core, access the main computer and leave. She watched him as he continued to talk about their current plans that she'd already discussed with the heads of the camp before she interrupted him quite bluntly. "If a Fal'cie is here... Wouldn't that be the computer that controls it. Like with Orphan?"

Whatever Hope was going to say was lost in a gasp of astonishment. He knew that very few people knew that. In fact most people outside of the top brass of the Academia that had existed in the first few decades after the fall were the only people who knew or cared. He swallowed hard as he thought back to that wretched, awful creature. He's hands shaking slightly.

"If a Fal'cie were controlling the power here. This place wouldn't be a wreak Arcane. Fal'cie even the ones on Pulse are meticulous about the places they maintain if that is their purpose. Also, we would have encountered lesser Fal'cie by now that would be in control of minor functions. I know that in your history books it only alludes to the 'great' Fal'cie such as Eden, Orphan, Phoenix , Leviathan and Kujata... But they were the 'heads' of their units if you want to look at it that way. Especially Leviathan controlled hundreds if not thousands of Fal'cie that helped to provide clean water to Cocoon."

"That really does sound like a paradise until you realize that it was to create a mass sacrifice." Boak commented with a dower look.

"Unfortunately." Noel replied without thinking, his face grim. "Most gods require a sacrifice of some sort. From their 'maker' to Etro and even Pulse..."


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot! Actually doing this every two week ish thing might actually be working.

It took them a week to reach the city core as well as set up base. Scouts were out right now, looking for alternative ways to get out after they were finished with the city core. Hope stood at the railing looking out. There were three ways down, a ramp, an old ladder and an elevator that still worked. The observation deck they were on observed the city from a distance. It was large. Not as large as Hope expected though. The city core of the 5th Ark had been vast and scary to be honest. 

This looked more like the ruins of Paddra back from 10AF. Big enough to need a team, but not so large as to be an entire cityscape. It was obvious that unlike the 5th Ark, that people didn't live here permanently, but did something more like a work shift. What worried Hope though, was in the distance an ominous structure that looked like the Pulse Vestige that Anima had once hidden inside of. Vestiges were useful, they housed an amazing independent system that created power. It had proved useful when they first built Academia... Once they were sure that the remnants of Anima were really dead and gone.

He shook himself. Just because a vestige was here meant nothing. There were similar structures all over Pulse where civilizations once thrived. It was the 'gift' from the Fal'cie to humans to gain their favor without making l'cie if what Vanille had told him was true. Oerba use to have one as well, but it had long been destroyed in the War of Transgression. Anima had hid in the one that made it to Cocoon from what had been another village, hiding from the Cocoonian Fal'cie.

It was strange to Hope, that the Fal'cie would really war between each other if they had the same goal. Then again, they did go about their goals differently. He guessed that it was because the Pulsian Fal'cie didn't believe that their Maker would come back by creating a sacrifice. After all, they searched for the gate, they didn't try to make one.

A hand settled down over his disturbing his thought process and he looked up to see Noel staring out into the city core as well. The hunter said nothing as he stared at it blankly, he seemed a thousand miles away. Hope paused as he stared at him, taking in his partner's countenance. Noel's hair fluttered in the soft bursts of wind provided by the air cyclers. His eyes were narrowed as he looked out. His face was covered in small freckles, probably from living in a place without shade for so long.

The cycle finished and his hair lowered. Hope felt his own settle as he brought his other hand over to rest on top of Noel's. The hunter seemed as disturbed by the vestige as he was. He turned after a moment and looked to Hope with something rather odd in his face.

"Do you know what Fal'cie are?" He asked quietly and Hope shruggd.

"Gods maybe? Or demi gods I guess. After all, Pulse, Lindzei created them and they exist only to complete their focus.

"They are crystals." Noel turned to face him. "Crystals that can give and take form. And from that form their other powers manifest. The way to kill a Fal'cie is to destroy it's crystal. But it protects it zealously." Hope nodded, he knew all of this after all. He had theoretically wanted to build a Fal'cie at one point. He'd made it based on what he knew about Anima and had unfortunately created Adam. Or at least that was the way that Noel had told what he knew of the story.

"It was how we defeated those that we destroyed." Hope replied quietly. "Not just Barthandulus and Orphan. We also defeated Dahaka and Anima."

"That makes you the most powerful guy I know." Noel teased as he turned to face him. "But that still makes me nervous."

"Oh?"

"In the 400AF with a Fal'cie... It was stored in something like that."

"Ah... that would be my fault." Hope replied with a sad little smile. "When we decided to make the proto Fal'cie... It had to run on it's own power... It's own crystal so to speak. And at the time to me it made sense to use another old Pulse Vestige to house it. As you can tell all these things look the same."

"Not very inventive are they?" Noel asked as he looked at Hope's face a little smile tugging on his lips.

"A vestige is made for war. While a Fal'cie has it's own protective covering over it's crystal for it to interact with the world... it is not armor in any sense of the word. A vestige as I've leaned from my research... Allows Fal'cie to be housed, move into the fight and amplifies it's ability to find people." He swallowed hard as he looked away from Noel and clenched his hands tightly. "To make cieth."

"What's that's frightening." Noel replied with a shudder. "So... it's both a power source and a Fal'cie weapon. We should really be careful incase something is in it."

"It's doubtful." Hope replied as he turned back and moved closer to Noel. "We would have seen something by now. Anima had been inside the Pulse Vestige hiding from where Cocoonian forces had accidentally taken him on board. His vestige was originally just outside of Oerba. The villagers would go to him for the strength to become l'cie. To carry out his bidding and mostly their own."

"That makes no sense. I thought Fal'cie were for their maker."

"All Fal'cie have a Focus. Anima's was on the people... to help raise humans that could one day become Ragnorok and destroy Cocoon." He squeezed Noel's hand. "It's all very morbid really. The important thing, is that Fal'cie rely on their crystals. And it is very easy for them to make Cei'th... L'cie on the other hand... is much harder."

"Well that's reassuring to know."

"It takes strength... Strength of heart I think... to resist the compulsion to become a Cie'th during the compulsion that makes them. It would be hard to turn us into Cie'th... Our strength is different."

"That... makes no sense."

"Your heart... is strong in a way that a simple compulsion can't affect. Which is what the vestige would be doing right now if a Fal'cie was inside of it. Some members of our camp would have turned into Cie'th by now... Maybe not Arcane." The mage laughed softly and then tugged Noel even closer. "Enough about that... it's depressing."

Noel kissed his forehead and then his nose. "Says the one who researched it all."

"After I heard Serah yelling at me about the proto Fal'cie. I looked into it. I explored every inch of Anima's vestige and how it worked. I looked into all of what was in Eden Library and the secret library about any and all information I could find on Fal'cie... and what they could do. It's amazing what I found... Eden was a very knowledgable Fal'cie and in it's private recesses it held all the information that it knew. A secret library with nothing but information on Fal'cie. I never would have found it if you and Serah hadn't inspired me."

"I thought all we did was inspire you to not use Fal'cie power... Since it would make Cie'th... A world just like Cocoon." Noel turned back to look at the vestige. "That's what that reminds me of."

"I had to prove it Noel. Prove that Fal'cie can't be controlled by human hands. Because at first it was horrible. We didn't know how to do anything without Fal'cie tech. It was by luck that the people listened to us about using Pulsian tech to at least help to pump electricity into the parts of Cocoon that were still livable. The Pulse Vestige saved us all... Even after it damned the six of us."

"I hate it when you talk like that." Noel hissed as he squeezed Hope's hand. "As if you can't see how amazing the world has become in such a short time away from those toxic beasts."

Hope laughed lightly and he pulled Noel close kissing his cheek. "Even now... it's hard. To be accepting of what I once was. Come on, let's go get some food."

***************************

Arcane stood at the head of the afternoon excursion group. She looked them over, casting a long look over Hope that let the scientist know that she still hadn't really forgiven him for going down the hole after Noel. And it didn't matter, Hope would have done it a thousand times. Especially for someone he cared so deeply for. Sighing at the group of nine, the whole excursion team. The only ones left behind were base came minders.

"Alright." She ordered as she turned and looked out into the city core. "We are going to do this carefully hear me? I have point. Noel has center and Boak has rear. Everyone else, sort yourself accordingly. ETA should be 2 hours to get to the hive."

She made a harsh gesture and headed towards the ramp. Hope sighed lowly as he fell into step with Noel. It was a natural movement all on it's own. These kind of trips into violent territory weren't unusual to him. But to traverse in something that they weren't really sure what they were looking for really took him back to his L'cie days. Even if the cast was a little different.

After the first day, he noticed that everyone had relaxed a bit more. There was nothing here. It was eerie to see the empty corroded buildings up close. No building was taller then about 5 stories. And the 'city' itself was like one lonely husk. It reminded Hope of the excursion he'd went on into Paluploum after he'd arrived to this time period. His hometown, empty now and terrifying looking.

"Seems like there's nothing here boss in the way of the living." Ardent spoke as he looked around. "No monsters, no weapons..."

"And there shouldn't be. The city core was not for the weapons." Arcane bit back harshly and then she softened a bit. "It reminds me of the barracks... only abandoned."

Ardent swallowed at that thought, remembering that this place was once made to inhabit the people that created, and probably tested these weapons. Long dead, after being used to create an army for whatever Fal'cie had commanded them.

"Isn't that what we're looking for?" Boak called out from the bad, distracting everyone from their somber thoughts. Down a ways, on the diagonal was a building about four stories high. It was leaning dangerously to the side but it had a fountain in front of it and empty stone flower beds filled with weeds and other parasitic plant life that could survive the low amounts of water that could have made it to such a place.

Hope looked down at is datapad and nodded to himself. "That's the building according to the map."

"Good." Ardent replied as some of the other troops grumbled in the background. They entered the building and Arcane ordered them to fan out. Looking for the central computer that would house the information they were looking for.

They found nothing. Once they regrouped on the outside, Hope took a deep breath and then sighed softly and closed his eyes. "I must have miscalculated. It is most likely then in the vestige."

"You mean that?" Arcane asked as she thumbed over her shoulder in the direction of the giant structure. "Isn't that dangerous. I feel like we should avoid that shit."

"I miscalculated. I thought that the computer would be housed in the human's base of operations. But instead, this is a warship right?" Hope waved his hand about. "When this thing takes on it's true role, a Fal'cie will come and assume command inside that. And it will need access to all the information about how to operate it and where it's 'troops' are so that it can deploy them." 

"So then the information you are looking for is in there." Noel grumbled and Hope sighed. "I think so."

"Well, we aren't going there today. Let's head back." Arcane ordered sternly.

**********************

"You seem tense." Noel murmured as he collapsed by side Hope inside their tent. "Is it about tomorrow?"

"I don't want to go in there." He admitted. "Going inside vestiges... It makes me nervous."

"Then tell me what you need. I can store the information in the decoder." Noel stated as he reached for Hope and pushed his hair our of his eyes. "You don't need anymore undue stress."

"I have to go." Hope admitted quietly. "Who knows what shape the computers in that thing are in... And I'm the only one that can make it 'talk' so that we can get the information. I just... Noel?" Hope watched as the hunter moved.

Noel moved behind the smaller man and pulled him back into his arms. Hope sighed evenly as he laid his head against Noel's chest. He could hear the brunette's heartbeat and he closed his eyes. Noel wrapped his arms around him as he laid back against the tent pole. Hope wanted to finish what he was saying but he found himself loosing the will to speak as he continued to lay cradled in his lover's arms.

"Tomorrow." Noel spoke after a moment, his voice soft and tender. "We'll find whatever it is that you're looking for. But you're hiding something from me."

The mage's eyes opened wide. He stared out and into the semi darkness that the tent afforded them to make a pseudo nighttime. He tried to pull away but stopped, Noel showed no signs of letting him go. He slumped back down and closed his eyes.

"I'm not hiding anything from you... I just haven't... told you everything."

"Then what is everything." It was even and calm, a bit more like Noel and Hope felt nervous. He didn't want to talk about that, and he had hoped that he could work out his plans without disturbing Noel.

"I know you're forgetting." He finally whispered. "I know you think it's because you think we're changing things inside your past... I think it's because of Caius."

The grip on him tightened. "And why would you think that?"

This time Hope was insistent about pulling away, he could cuddle with Noel later and in a much better places. When he spoke again, he spoke softly, afraid that someone, anyone might over hear.

"You are meant to replace Caius... Or die trying... I don't care to know which one. If you replace him, the only way to make you a guardian that won't go insane...Is one that forgets. Forgets things that attaches him to the world. To people. I've noticed that you talk less and less about your village but more and more about the history or technology that you remember from the lessons Caius gave you. He changed you Noel... Whether you know it or not. He changed you and the closer you become to whatever the hell he is... The closer you become to losing Noel. And I don't want that."

The other swallowed hard and turned away. What Hope was saying was something that had crossed his mind many times. The odd way in which his memories faded and the dark gaps that took their place. It made him feel like he was going insane but it was obvious that while he'd been hiding from it, Hope had been searching for a solution.

"And what do you hope to find here?" He asked uietly.

"Yeul... has always existed. It would make sense that the Fal'cie would have sought her out to look for places in the Timeline that are good for trying to execute their plans. This ship.... not unlike the 5th Ark is meant for the other war... A war that is beyond our understanding."

"And you think that Caius has been here before?"

"I think that some of the technology on how to create Oracle Drives... If I know how to make it... I think I can use it to change what's happening to your memories." He stated quietly.

"What does that even mean?"

"I'm not really sure I know." Hope admitted quietly. "But I know that Orcale Drives store memories and in some way they must be programed to Yeul to store her memories. And I think that Caius is using that technology to store your memories and sort them? So that you can recall certain ones but not others. I want to make it so that he can't..."

A quiet settled between them and they looked at each other quietly. Noel swallowed hard. He had thought that no one had realized all that was happening to him. After all, you change the past you change the future so why would it seem weird for him to lose things? And yet, Hope had put a lot of thought into it and into him. He felt absurdly touched and wanted to show the other.

He grasped Hope's hand and squeezed tightly. He wasn't sure of what he wanted to say or wanted to do. He didn't want to feel vulnerable in this place. And so he locked it down as best he could and looked to the daunting structure in the distance. Tomorrow they were going to into the Vestige.

*********************

"You know, it would probably be easier to do this if we just knocked down a few buildings with magic." Capers commented as he looked around the deaden cityscape. "This place gives me the damn shivers."

"Bad idea." Asher responded as he skirted around part of a fallen building. "Most of the shit here isn't actually bound to it's area. Who know's what a massive explosion would call to is. I have a desire to go home to my family yo know?"

There was a round of laughter. But it was uneasy due to the amount of truth in those words. Other then the incident with the shield lizard everything had been going pretty well, if you didn't mind the lack of information gathered. There seemed to be nearly nothing here from the places they'd looked. Nothing on the plans of how the Ark was built and certainly none of the secret information that Hope wanted. 

At last they approached the doors leading in to the Vestige, it sent eerie shivers down Hope's spine as the headed up to the doors. A shrine to Fal'cie. Their battle armor against the one who exists beyond. He already hated this place, but he had gone plenty of places he hated before. He couldn't stray from the goal.

"All right, we have to be careful in here. From what we know of Vestige they have their own quirks of battle ready ready equipment. Most of it probably the same as what was in the Ark. Is there anything else we should be aware of?"

"There may or may not be cie'th. After all, we do no know what happened to the people of this village and cie'th are near immortal as far as we know."

"Thanks for that comforting thought." Noel grouched as he let the advance team open the doors.

"Well the thing is... Is we don't know everything about Fal'cie... They aren't exactly forthcoming about removing the part of themselves that make them mystics. All we know..."

"Is that they have a range in which they can send a compulsion to make cei'th but we aren't sure what the maximum distance is to make l'cie." Arcane replied with a grim face. "But according to you cei'th don't die right Estheim?"

"Right." Hope responded grimly. "When I first came to Pulse... All that were here were animals, the occasional cie'th and the last wishes of dying l'cie... Those who hadn't accomplished their focus."

Noel swallowed hard at that. He had met one such monster when he had traveled with Serah. The first few levels were empty. They seemed much more lifeless to the hunter then the city core had. He stepped a bit closer to Hope. He found his mind focusing on the idea of there not being a Fal'cie, but the more he thought about it. The more sure he was.

"Hey Hope... You said that there are literally thousands of Fal'cie right?" He asked quietly although his voice echoed through the small hallway as they walked.

"More like millions. The amount of power each one has varies but no one really knows. The power to make l'cie supposedly come from their gods... Pulse and Lindzei respectively since the l'cie would display very different brands." Hope looked back at him and noticed the worry in his eyes. "Why, what are you thinking?" He asked as he signaled the other to stop.

"Have you ever encountered a Fal'cie who's focus was to fight?" Noel asked and he watched as Hope paled.

"No... they were all to search for the door, or to find a way to bring back their maker." Hope looked forward into the corridor. He approached Noel and cupped his face. "What do you remember? What's in there?"

His voice was so soft now that the others couldn't hear actual words. Arcane frowned and signaled everyone to stop and take a rest. Everyone was too keyeed up and simply held onto their weapons. Looking around nervously as the waited for the next order. Noel closed his eyes and dug into the memory of information that was building in his mind. He swallowed hard, his voice barely audible.

"There's a Fal'cie here." He opened his eyes and looked at Hope with wide despair darkened eyes as he looked piercingly into Hope's. "It's asleep I think."

"Asleep?" Hope asked, his own eyes darting across Hope's face trying to understand what he meant by a sleeping Fal'cie. How could one be sleeping considering the must follow their focus.

"In the history that I know... A Fal'cie sleeps in one of the Arks.... waiting to make the soldiers for the battles beyond."

"Then we should retreat." Hope turned from Noel abruptly. "We're are heading back to base. It's not safe here."

"What?" Arcane stood up. "Why?"

"There is a Fal'cie sleeping here. One meant to fight. We can't risk disturbing it." He was about to head back when an explosion rocked the building.

Hope crashed into Noel and the two hit the floor hard. Noel wrapped an arm around the other, his other arm casting his swords out of the way but still in reach. Everyone else tumbled as well. The group looked around at each other.

"That wasn't from inside." Arcane hissed as she stood. "What felled us was a recoil. Asher radio back."

Hope stared at Noel with wide eyes and then pushed off the hunter to sit up. "I need a computer terminal. Come on!" He stood up and pulled Noel. Arcane screamed at him as he and the hunter dashed the few feet back to the panel they ignored. Bypassing secrecy Hope pressed his hands against the computer and pushed for answers.

"What's he doing?" Boak asked as she stood between the two groups her hands ready to cast magic.

"Talking to the machines. Just wait a minute." Noel replied and as the woman gave him a look of confusion.

They all waited patiently, quietly listening for what would happen next. Asher put down the communicator and shook his head. If anyone was alive and it was unlikely at this point, they couldn't get near a communicator. Hope released his hands from the computer and let his hands fly on the keyboard. He slammed his hands on the grid and turned to face the other.

"They type of Fal'cie here is called a Shield Fal'cie... It can... Fight and it's crystal is deeply embedded in it's armor. I know we aren't the type of force you might think we need for this. But we have to stop it."

"Hope... I think this is a little beyond us." Arcane replied.

"The amplifier on this vessel could hit Academia and turn at the very least a 1/4 of the people into cei'th. We have to stop it." He looked at Noel and then nodded to the others. "I don't really think we have a choice."

Arcane looked around grimly at the others and nodded. "Here's the plan. The cieth has to be in the central core. We're close. We can get there relatively quickly. Since it attacked the base and we haven't heard a second explosion that means it doesn't know about our transport above. Furthermore this place is kept afloat by a graviton core. We'll stop the Fal'cie, which may or may not kill it's power souce. It'll leave the Ark dead in the sky... but it'll still remain afloat. Agreed?"

Noel looked at the others all varying degrees of terrified and thought of the ProtoFal'cie Adam. He grabbed Hope's hand and squeezed it tightly. "There's nothing else we can do. In a few minutes it will seek to make Fal'cie... Some of us might fall."

"Noted." Arcane replied grimly. "Move out."


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I get a little off that 2weeks due some personal issues. So today I'll put two updates.

As the reached the inner part of the Vestige Hope stopped them one last time. It was another computer terminal, this one fairly more complicated then anything that they had seen so far. He scrambled into his utility packs for a few moments and pulled out a small data drive. He laid his hands on the machine and without and sort of presentation began to work as they other stood around mostly nervous.

"Calm down." Arcane replied. "That's the data we came here for. We knew this would be dangerous."

"Yeah, but none of us signed up to be made l'cie." Ardent growled.

"No one ever signs up for that." Noel growled as he looked at Hope but the other was absorbed in his work. "Don't forget the company you keep."

Ardent looked deeply regretful and then turned away. He seemed to have nothing else to say so Noel turned his focus back onto Hope. The Fal'cie had to know they were near. But it seemed that it had not sent out compulsions. Maybe it couldn't?

"Can you hear me? Can you hear me. This is Lune."

"That's from the guard team!" Arcane snatched the communicator off her belt. "Arcane. Where are you?"

"Heading topside. The base is completely gone."

"How many still with you?"

"Three more... for better or worse. Sturk, Willows and Maudlyn. We managed to salvage some decoder and medical supplies. We are heading to the ship. How's your team?"

"Still good. Wait for us at the ship. We'll let you know when we're coming."

"Understood. Out." Lune replied and the communicator went silent. It was a sobering thought, they'd left twelve people at base and only three had survived. Arcane looked at the others and then at Hope who had finished up and had secreted away the disks that he'd gotten.

"That was everything. Everything we came to get and more." Hope replied quietly before he looked down at his hands. "Maybe we should send a team back with the information. Just in case?"

"I don't trust there to not be a compulsion on the outside that might waylay us. And you are the only one that I know is strong enough to resist such. And I need you here." Arcane took a deep breath. "You all better have enjoyed your break."

She turned and headed towards the door. "May Etro protect us all."

The first thing that happened when the entered the room was the veil of darkness that threw them off. The Fal'cie inside sounded as if it were breathing. Lights turned on slowly and Hope was struck by how dark this Fal'cie looked. It was large as most were, it's covering was inky black and was struck through with purple. It looked like a large demon, it's crystal deep inside it's midriff barely seeable. It looked like a demon god or the darker brother of Dahaka.

It was quite possibly the most terrifying thing that Hope had seen in quite a while. The beast regarded them calmly and then the stood up to reveal that it possessed wings. It's calm demeanor immediately died when it looked upon Hope.

"Fal'cie killer." It hissed as it stared him down. "You dare to defy your fate."

"Move!" Arcane called as she spotted movement, everyone scrambling away as it's tail came crashing down.

The blast of magic was expected as Hope was flung back into the wall. Fighting a Fal'cie was something he hadn't done since he was fourteen. In an existence that he never wanted to experience before. He sunk down wall as gasped. While being a l'cie would be better for something like this, having body armor this time around was an improvement. He pushed himself up into a stand position as Noel came to stand in front of him. He pressed his hand to Noel's back.

"I don't know it if it's going to send out a compulsion. But you resisted Adam's right?"

"I protect you." Noel replied and Hope nodded even though the other couldn't see. "You know the most. Lead us."

"Got it." Hope pressed his hand a bit harder to Noel's back and then stepped to the side. "We need to aim for the center. It has to have weak spots... but it's crystal is the source of it's power."

There was a smatter of agreement and then Arcane was yelling battle commands. Noel felt the charging of a spell from Hope. He dashed forward into the fray. The hunter smashed his larger sword into the arm and turned to slam his smaller sword into the joint. The creature roared in anger and fell backwards but was undefeated. 

And thats when a low level hum filled the room. Hope looked around in horror as many on their side began to fall and transform. Asher, Hutch, Mellow went down immediately. He turned to Boak to find her shrinking in horror but okay. He moved towards her and yanked her backwards as Capers began to change as well.

"Attack the cie'th. They are low level. Your magic should be enough to them incapacitate them and get them out of the way."

"I can't!" She gasped turn to glare at him, but Hope was not looking at her at all. Fletcher went down and transformed. "They're our people."

"They are already dead!" Hope finally turned to look at her. The pain in his eyes something that she had never noticed before until that exact moment and she felt something inside herself crumple. She backed up from him and he grabbed her again as he pulled her behind him and sent a power areoga spell at the trio of cei'th coming towards them. "Already dead and now they are suffering. To be a cie'th is to suffer."

Boak swallowed hard, it sounded like he was speaking from personal experience. She squared her shoulders. A loud cry went out and she looked to see Ardnt trapped in the creatures claws. 

"My name is Diablos... The Demon King... and you shall pay for what you've done!" It hissed as it squeezed until Ardent burst in a spray of blood and gore. Boak gasped as she turned back to Hope.

The other's face had drawn into an looked she'd never recognized before. Eyes dark and angry, no longer the bright orbs that she thought were filled with wisdom and good humor. Hope looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "Focus on stopping the cie'th. Heal if you can. I'll show him a Fal'cie killer."

Boak swallowed hard but backed up to do as she was told. Calling her magic into herself she began to cast the strongest spells she knew. If she could help it no one else would fall.

Inside of Hope, was a well of magic that he'd never touched. Often times, afraid of what it meant. It was the well of power that was connected to his time as a l'cie. His magic existed along side it. And often times he would dip just slightly into it. But he was afraid of what it meant that it was still there.

"Firaga!" He shouted as he pulled out his boomerang and lifted it up. "Waterga!"

The power in those strikes, he recognized it as the same power that he'd once used to help take down Orphan. And then came the side affects as he felt the recoil of such strong magic. He gasped at the pain like straining unused muscles and steeled himself. He could do this.

Arcane flew from the side, stabbing into the beast, it's armor heavily weakened. Afterwards Noel, using his spear managed to knock back one of it's arms. He could hear the sound of a cei'th being dispatched by a recovered Boak.. The battle chaos scaring his mind the same way it had those years ago.

'Don't go weak on me now Hope.' He heard Lightning's voice in his head. But he hadn't filled the well of power yet.

He sent his boomerang flying into the side of the beast's head causing it to focus on him. "The killer." It hissed.

Hope dived back, his boomerang hit the creature again. "Thundaga!" The beast seemed to have no elemental weaknesses. He dove and rolled to try and escape the tail again only to have the beast throw his hand back and send Hope crashing into Maudlyn. The other hissed in pain. Hope noted idly that his boomerang had hit the wall and was heading towards the sensors in his glove but not fast enough.

He ripped the backup gun from Maudlyn's belt and aimed it the beast and fired as best he could. Part of him detested it. But Maudlyn need time to adjust his hurt wrist before Hope could heal it. Arcane was keeping the beast busy. She went for the face and the beast wailed in agony as it was hit in the eye. Noel had pulled back, turning his spear back into two swords.

"Do it." Maudlyn hissed as he stood up. "The sooner we get out of here. I can scold my sister for being in danger back at base camp." He tried to smile lightly.

Hope lifted his right hand and caught his boomerang. He lifted his left hand and cast."Cura."

A blue glow filled the room as healing was cast over everyone. Hope sighed deeply at the recovering feeling that roamed his body and looked towards the others. Arcane let out a sharp cry as a magic spell hit her full force. It was Ultima. He ran for her but was stopped by the tail crashing down in front of him. He pulled back and looked for Boak. Boak was on the other side. He nodded to her and ran for Noel. 

He rolled down to dodge the tail again, magic charging at his finger tips. "Waterga!" He yelled from his position. He was in a bad place to throw his boomerang. It left him at a disadvantage. He was a long distance fighter. He looked towards Noel who had driven his blade into the beast's chest. 

Helpeful, but not good enough. He heard a round of cursing, Arance was definitely still alive. He reached a suitable distance and threw his boomerang with all he had. And lifted his left arm. "Firaga!"

Noel felt the scorch of fire fly past him, too close for comfort but heard Diablos' cry of anger giving him the time to remove his short sword from the beast's chest. He pushed off onto the ground and turned his swords back into a spear as he prepared to do Meteor Javelin. Pushing off he leapt up and his weapon shot down in the form of four throwing spears towards the beast midsection and he thankfully heard the armor crack. He dropped back to the ground and rolled out of the way.

"Hope! Some magic would be nice!" He called but the other didn't respond.

He turned to face where Hope was only to find the other recoiling in horror. Turning back to the beast, what he saw made him want to flee to. Diablos was pulling back into himself. Preparing for a signature attack. Hope frantically turned his head back and froth as he tired to think about what to do. He closed his eyes for a split second as he heard something echo inside him.

Not something, but someone he hadn't heard from in a long time. He turned to Noel with a surprisingly happy smile. "Everyone report to my position!"

The strange call caught everyone's attention and those left moved as quickly as they could. Noel was disheartened to find that there were only five of them left from the group of eleven that they had brought with them. More then half of them gone. Mostly cei'th by the look of the three that were staggering for them. Once they were all gathered, Noel watched as Diablos jumped up into the air, wings flapping mightily, sending a strong wind that threatened to knock them all down.

"Last Resort!" Beads of white magic flowed from Hope's hand hitting the beast hard and knocking it back. He collapsed down to his knees. Noel went down beside him and wrapped his arm around his waist. Arcane watched in awe, she had never seen the extent of what Hope could do. The beast hit the wall but flew back up. Still strong and fully mutated. It looked more like a bat then anything else. It's armor had mutated as well.

For the first time, she started to wonder if they were going to die here.

"Dark Messenger." A orb of pure blackness form between the creatures grasp. A direct contrast the the magic that hit him before.

"He's weakened." Boak noted weakly. "Whatever you did director... It's scared him."

"I used... the power of a l'cie without being one. Damn right it scared him." Hope gasped. "But we don't have any ability to shield ourselves."

"I could run and use Provoke and Mediguard." Noel started but Hope's grip on his arm became painful. "No. The attack is too strong. A Fal'cie signature attack isn't something that any one person can withstand. And considering the charge time... We have to figure out how to guard before he releases."

"Maybe some kind of barrier?"

"I doubt it would work." Arcane murmured. "Start casting protect and pray."

Diablos threw the orb and as it came crashing towards them, Noel couldn't help but pull Hope to him. If this was it, he wanted to have Hope as close to him as possible. They all braced themselves but all that could be heard was the sounds of the attack hitting something that was most certainly not them and Hope's half laugh, half cough of joy and pain.

Noel opened his eyes to see that they were completely blocked from view by what looked to be a giant castle wall. Hope still with in Noel's embrace reached out and touch it

"Hello old friend." He murmured through heavy breathes before he collapsed back into Noel. "I need you all to weaken it more. I can't... I can only use one attack before he dissipates. So weaken it."

"What the hell is this?" Arcane asked in confusion.

"L'cie have summons." Noel explained as he stared at the sweat breaking out onto Hope's face. "This is his... Alexander. He shouldn't be able to summon him at all."

"He's not.... quite summoned..." Hope panted as he kept his grip on Noel. "This is a favor... from an... old friend."

"Lightning?"

"No... from Alexander... himself. Eidolons are... sentient." He took a deep bracing breath. "He can only... stay so long... Make use of it."

"Roger that." Arcane stood up. Noel finally noticed that she was favoring her right leg. She was injured. "We have to break that crystal right?"

"Well the crystal is actually the Fal'cie... Not that impressive body it has." Noel replied.

"Maudlyn.... You've got your guns. Get on top of Alexander and hid behind one of the turrets. Aim for the eyes as best you can." Arcane gripped her gunblade as tightly as she could. "The wall is keeping back those cie'th for now but I'd feel guilty considering. Boak up on the wall. Dispatch them and then help out Maudlyn."

They both saluted but Boak cast a curaga on everyone before they started to move. "Noel stay with Hope for a few moments. Help when you're ready." She murmured with a soft voice. She turned her own weapon into it's gun form. "When you're ready... You and I will aim straight for the crystal."

"Got it." Noel replied watching as they all scaled the wall that protected them from the Fal'cie's continuing magical attacks. "I didn't expect you to be so strong." The hunter murmured as he pulled Hope up so that his head was on his shoulders.

"Go." Hope whispered. "Go help them."

"You need some recovery time. I'll go when you're up."

Hope shook his head furiously. "I'm not a l'cie anymore... The reason he is so strong is because... Instead of the well of power... It is my life force. My.... will. A human's will is stronger... Even stronger then a l'cie... But our life force... is so much weaker."

"What?" Noel hauled Hope up and stared at him iwht wide eyes. "Then stop! Stop the attack!"

"Listen to me." Hope pushed himself up with huffing breathes and cupped Noel's cheeks. "I have one attack before I lose consciousness. Go!"

"I don't want to." Noel admitted quietly. "When Alexander falls you'll be unprotected."

"I know..." He leaned forward and kissed Noel deeply. "But this may be our only chance. You are as powerful as am I. But it's not enough... and no one else is as strong. I love you." He breathed lightly. "When you are ready... Lift your sword and Alexander will attack. It should weaken the Fal'cie enough that you can destroy it's crystal."

"And then no more fighting Fal'cie."

Hope laughed lightly. "No more fighting Fal'cie."

"You know, you're only ensure that I continue winning right?" Noel asked quietly which caused the other to laugh more. And the hunter pulled him back close again, memorizing the feel of Hope in his arms. He'd make it back in time. He swore it to himself. He couldn't protect Yeul, but he could protect Hope. He wouldn't let himself fail.

It was silent as Noel stood up, he left Hope leaning against the wall. He picked up his two swords and turned to the wall. Using abilities gained from his travels he jumped up and landed on the way to survey the battlefield. It was a stalemate. The beast couldn't get past the strength of Alexander fueled by Hope's will. But it was also guarding it's crystal.

"Arcane, sword now. Are there any cie'th left?" He asked as he prepared himself. He was sure he could take it out if he used Meteor Javelin again at the right moment.

"All dispatched." Boak called, her tone was rather weak. Noel nodded. "On the count of 5. I"ll lift my sword. Alexander will fire. Stay on until he's finished. I don't know what his attack is, but I'm assuming that being down in front of him is not in our best interest. After the attack he'll start to disappear. Jump down and proceed to your safest battle position. Hit it hard."

"That all?"

"Arcane... go for the face. I'll go for the crystal."

"Got something up your sleeve?" She asked, her purple eyes lighting with grim mirth.

"You have no idea." He laughed before starting the countdown. At one, he lifted his two bladed sword.

Immediately, Alexander began to rumble and somewhere inside himself he learned the name of the attack. Divine Judgement. What a fitting name. The machine opened up and Noel found himself being pushed slightly. Somehow he knew, that this was where Hope usually stood, beside the main part of the eidolon. Light shot out, lining the ground in white, writings in the divine script, or at least that was the way he learned it.

The glow became almost unbearably bright and the beast seemed to be trying to flee it but unable to escape. The resulting explosions sent the Fal'cie flying backwards. Substantially weakened as the explosion seemingly took nearly everything out of the creature. Noel jumped off as did the others dashing into position.

Arcane launched at it's face, smashing her gunblade into it's bad eye and whirling to get out of the way of it's hands. Noel turned to the center and glared. He backed up a few paces as he turned his swords into a spear. "Maudlyn. Clear me a path."

"You got it."

A hail of bullets fired at the creature. Causing it to become even more distracted from him. He focused on the crystal, the attack from Alexander had destroyed most of the armor protecting it. But he needed to find the perfect place. There. He took off and ran up the side of the wall and jumped into the air. He yelled as he aimed and threw the spears one after another hitting the crystal in the exact same place. He lifted his hand and caught his sword and landed slowly as the creature feel back. Arcane appeared by his side as a loud crack was heard and the Fal'cie let out a groan as it feel down.

"Useless creatures... We are your gods." Diablos gasped. "This evil... will not be forgiven."

Noel couldn't help but role his eyes. He looked over at Arcane and noticed the way she was staring down the beast. "You are just jealous." She hissed to the dying creature. Watching as his crystal was cracking further. "Because we live according to our own means. Your god has forsaken you."

The shatter that sounded startled Noel and the Fal'cie slowly disintegrated. He watched as Maudlyn and Boak moved around the space checking to make sure that all the cie'th were truly dealt with.

"You're aren't what you say you are...are you?" He asked turning to Arcane.

"Let's just say... Lightning has a soft spot for Hope." She nodded back. "I'll take care of this end. You can use healing magic right?"

"A little." He shrugged lightly. As he turned and headed towards where they'd left the mage.

Hope was lying on his side, facing away from the battlefield. He moved quickly and knelt beside him and rolled him over. There was blood leaking from the corner of his mouth and he looked drained. He pulled him up into his arms, so that his head was cradled in the crook of his elbow. He ran his finger over Hope's lower lip.

"Cure." He whispered softly. As a chosen of Etro much like a l'cie he could use all the magic that was to be offered to a human, but healing wasn't his strong point. And he wasn't sure that magic could heal away the deep exhaustion that such a summon would cause. After all, summoning Alexander as a l'cie when you have an endless well of power and sharing your life force are two different things.

"I win you know." Noel teased lightly as he moved to pick the silver haired man up. "This is twice now that you've fallen unconscious on me."

************************

Hope moaned weakly as consciousness began to come back to him. He could hear the sounds of an airship around him. He searched his mind but the last thing he remembered was being with Alexander. He heard a deep rumble in the back of his mind. It was Alexander. When you need me, old alliances are important. The voice said and then faded completely from his mind. Hope opened his eyes to a dim room and looked around.

He was in the medical bay of the Ambassador. The Academy ship they had taken to the Ark. He turned on his side slowly to see Noel slouched back in a chair sleep uncomfortably. Then again, considering the life he'd led so far, the mage knew that the hunter could probably sleep anywhere. He reached out eagerly and took the other's hand.

That was enough to wake the hunter up. He jerked forward and then smiled at Hope tenderly. He moved to sit on the bed as the silver haired man sat up. The two wrapped their arms around each other, happy to be alive and alone together. Hope buried his face into the taller man's neck and closed his eyes. He was still so tired. Noel chuckled softly at his partner's behavior. He kissed the top of his head and hummed lightly.

Hope smiled at the soft melody, it sounded like a lullaby. He kissed Noel's shoulder and laid back down. Hope looked up at the other expectantly and laughed as the hunter bent down to take off his boot, sandal things and laid down beside him. They curled together again and Noel started to hum again. While the scientist know there was much to do, he liked this. His eyes slid shut against his will and he fell asleep again as his exhaustion caught back up with him.

When Hope opened his eyes again he was still lying against Noel's chest but the sky was getting darker now. He listened to the quiet beat of his heart and sighed softly. They should have landed in Academia by now. And while he wanted to be concerned he found that he just couldn't get himself to move. 

"I know you're awake." Noel's voice rumbled and Hope smiled and lifted up to look down at him.

"Where are we?" Hope asked quietly.

"Still on the Ark. Just... on our ship. Arcane wanted to gather up what was left of base camp. Give them proper funerals and all." Noel trailed off. "She's burning them and taking mementos for their families. I..."

"She doesn't want to risk... there being something else here." Hope supplied and then he closed his eyes. "This place is dangerous... The sooner we leave the better."

Noel hummed his agreement and gripped Hope's hips, moving him so that he straddled his body more comfortably. Hope propped himself up over his partner and sighed softly. "Is it because of what I said?"

Hope shook his head. "Arks are inherently dangerous. But also, this Ark could be here due to a paradox, could be a beacon. Could be anything really. The battle it was built for...isn't in this time period and thus it shouldn't be out here so easily findable."

"I guess that makes sense." Noel shrugged and dismissed the topic as he looked out at the sky. "She also, didn't want to move you too much. You weren't responding well to magic."

"That might have been Alexeander's fault. He wanted to talk with me." Hope pushed off Noel and laid down beside him. "Should I need him again, he'll come. He explained how I can use... the full extent of my power more readily."

"And safer?" Noel asked but the other shook his head, there was really no way to use it in a safe way.

"My magic is drawn off of me now. And while Alexander is willing to lend me his strength to ensure that using magic isn't as taxing as it could be... To summon will always be like that."

"Then I will ensure that you never have to summon again." Noel insisted and Hope laughed softly and laid on his shoulder with a yawn.

"I thought we agreed? No more fighting Fal'cie."


	10. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the second part of the two for one

When they docked back in Academia, Hope noted with a quiet grown that Ulman was waiting for them to see what they found. He patted the pockets that he'd hid most of the information he'd found in. He really wished she'd lay off. Dealing with her on top of everything else was something he wasn't looking forward to and he hadn't fully recovered from summoning Alexander either. Noel who was not so reserved did groan loudly and Arcane out right laughed though it was strained.

"And this is why I like being a lowly soldier." She teased as she turned away. Hope touched her shoulder, she still felt bad about those they'd lost on the Ark. Hope felt it too, it was why he hadn't wanted to bring anyone. And yet, he wasn't sure that a smaller group would have survived at all. He had not expected a Fal'cie and considering the rage that seeing him had brought about.

"20 soldiers went with you." Ulman stated quietly looking at the ragged group that was brought back. Hope nodded wearily but forced himself to stand upright as she stood before him. "And only so few came back."

"There were a lot of complications. It'll all be in my full report." He responded blankly and she nodded but turned to look at him. The look in her eyes was haughty and slightly angry.

"It would seem that you are not the trouble that the Academy suggest you are worth. Including the facility that equals what? Nearly 100 dead to keep you alive?" She asked as she stepped closer to him and crossed her arms. "You've brought a lot of trouble down on our heads."

"You would have had these problems regardless of whether I was here or not." Hope replied solemnly. "If not for my interference the falling of the pillar would not be known. Supposed much of what has happened from my knowledge in the past is what has keep it standing until now."

"Then why haven't you made plans to move our civilization?" She asked cocking her head to the side and glared him down. "I feel like you haven't given the Council sufficient answers."

"Around the year 300AF... There were tests done to check out the viability about Cocoon." Hope stated calmly. He was lying but he was sure there was enough out there to substantiate what he was saying. Even if what he knew actually came from Noel. "If too much of Cocoon breaks up... The crystal dust is poisonous. Without a place to protect us from the dust, it would be kinder to let them all perish quickly then to suffering through the poison."

"And you are sure about this?" She asked quietly, her face wore a mask of thought. Hope wondered if she was looking to use it for good or to use it against someone. He was never too sure with her and it made him nervous. He nodded blankly and she nodded in thought. She crossed her arms and decided to leave it at that. 

Hope nodded at her gratefully. After an awkward moment of silence Ulman took her leave and Hope noticeably sagged. Hope couldn't help but find it strange though that no one else was really there to meet them. Arcane ambled over to him and sighed deeply.

"Take Noel and go to your rooms. Nabaat set it up that you were to be left alone until you gave your reports tomorrow. I suggest you take that reprieve before some other nosy asshole decides to show up." She clapped his shoulder roughly and nodded them both off.

Hope moved towards Noel and reached out to touch his shoulder briefly. He could feel his body swaying slightly in exhaustion. The trip had been very hard on both of them. More so on Noel he thought as he lead him to the elevator. Glad to passby normal procedure, Hope hit hit the button that led to the lobby for the residential area. Once in the residential area they crossed the broad lobby that led to the password protected elevators for the important people that lived within the Academia building.

Hope lived in a fancy penthouse up on some high floor that left a beautiful view out towards the skeleton frame of the new Cocoon on on side and on the other, a view of the Crystal Pillar. At first Noel had thought seen such a sight would be depressing, but he found it strengthening his resolve as he was reminded of his mission. That pillar was going to break one day. And without the new Ark, his world would become a reality. The people he knew now would be around to see it but Hope...

Hope would go to the year 500AF most likely to see Cocoon raised and if they failed, Hope would be close. The crystal dust would poison him and-

"Noel?" Hope's voice was worried as heavy hands landed on the hunter's shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"I... I think so?" He asked quietly.

"You started hyperventilating." Hope murmured as he took the still trembling hunter into his arms. "Was the mission to stressful?"

"No I..." He shook his head and wrapped his arms around the scientist. "I thought about 500AF. While neither of us witnessed the fall..."

"Don't think about it so hard." Hope replied firmly and Noel opened his mouth to protest but the smaller man squeezed his sides, silencing him. "Hear me out. Right now, we are working to prevent all of that. To... To change your future. Already we've made a new Cocoon, a safe place for humanity. Right now Serah and Snow are fixing relevant parts of the timeline as Lightning directed."

"You trust her a lot don't you?" The hunter asked quietly.

"With my life." Hope replied. "We all have our own motivations and even our own goals... but they all require saving the future. Saving the world." Noel nodded miserable and laid his head on Hope's shoulder. His body was beginning to lag more. The fatigue from the mission catching up with him in the worse way. Hope laughed softly and kissed the side of his head. "Go lay down. I have a few things to finish up. I'll be there shortly."

Noel nodded as he headed back towards the bedroom. Hope watched after him with a fond smile before he turned and headed for the kitchen. The mage took out a bottle of water and drank from it deeply. He was tired as well but he had his own concerns burning in the back of his head. The foremost being about the Fal'cie that had resided on the 13th Ark. It was something that made no sense to him. Such a thing didn't seem possible at all. The other thing that peaked his interest was the information that they had collected. Making such a speedy escape hadn't allowed him to look at any of the data.

And he knew for a fact that the government was going to quarantine the Ark. Sure the Fal'cie was declared dead by them, but risking the creating of l'cie or more importantly cie'th wasn't something that the Council could risk, especially with the Ark so close to the capital. After he finished the bottle he closed his eyes and thought back on the changes that had happened so far. He knew that he would have a lot of work ahead of him. But if he could find what he wanted...

"Light... I really need your help right now." He grumbled to himself as he closed his eyes. "I'm really not sure of what to do next."

*********************************

"I... don't think I understood a single word that came out of your mouth in the last fifteen minutes." Noel grumbled as he stared at Hope from the corner of his lab. Hope had been working furiously on the data that he'd recovered from the 13 Ark and his only companion had been Noel for at least an hour.

Which had proved problematic for the young hunter and Hope tended to think out loud when he was alone or truly comfortable with someone. The scientist looked over at him from his desk. Covered in blueprints and formulas... as well as a holocomputer that was displaying information from the data he had collected.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know if there really is any plainer way to explain these theorems." The silver haired man shrugged helplessly and Noel couldn't help but laugh loudly.

"Just answer me this. What is it that you are trying to do?"

"Make a box." Hope replied. "A box big enough to fit a human heart.... but strong enough to live through the crystal pillar falling. I want to put Etro's heart below Cocoon in 500AF before it falls."

"Seal it away with the crystal dust?" Noel asked his eyes wide.

"Well the crystal dust is toxic and will be fore centuries to come. If I make it like an Ark I can make it basically indestructible."

"But when the toxic-ness of the crystal dust wears off...."

"Will it really?" Hope asked quietly. "In your time...In 200 years all animals.... and nearly all humans were gone. The dust is too horribly toxic. And even if the land becomes livable again. The area where Cocoon fell will always be toxic. That much dust and debris will have mixed with the soil in large quantities. That area will never be fit for even human exploration again."

"You sound confident of that."

"In your travels did you see the scar on Cocoon and the dead lands of Pulse?" Hope asked quietly.

"Well yes but I thought that was caused by the War of Transgression."  
.  
"It was.... During the battle against Cocoon the Pulsians managed to damage the part of Cocoon that used crystal as it's protection... And thus nothing in that area can grow ever again. When Cocoon fell... The crystal pillar absorbed that layer and used it to help create itself. Thus, the entire pillar is even more potent then what had created the dead lands."

The hunter face turned somber. He had known that the falling of the crystal pillar was the reason he was born into a dying world. The reason that his whole village had died. And yet to hear it stated so plainly hurt. As he imagined a world of billions of people almost nearly wiped out into a village of 40 or 50 in only a few generations.

"Then the really is no other alternative is there?" Noel asked as his mind searched for ideas of what Caius would do. "Caius needs a large sacrifice. He will attack your Ark."

"Which is why I'm trying to make it strong and battle ready. But it will require you and Serah and maybe even Snow to fight Caius to ensure that my Ark does rise."

"And what about you?" Noel asked. "After all, you are the reason that we managed to beat that Fal'cie."

"Caius won't be as weak as that Fal'cie... You and I both know it. While I am much strong then others there is no way I could fight him and survive." He smiled at Noel thinly. "Even now I'm still the weakest."

"I don't believe that." Noel stated as he stood up and grabbed Hope's arms. "You were the reason that we survived that Fal'cie."

"You were." Hope countered and he pressed a quick kiss to Noel's mouth. "I had to power to hold him off because of Alexander. I would have never been able to destroy it's crystal. If Serah had been with you... It wouldn't have been all that hard at all. You beat Adam with just two people."

"That was so hard." Noel whined as he dropped his head on the mage's shoulder. "It keep regenerating because it was in a paradox."

"Oh? I don't know that it regenerated. When you first told me the story it was just long."

"Well..." Noel pulled back and stared at Hope with a troubled look. "The proto Fal'cie Adam was in a paradox because it sent itself back to fight us... After it sent itself back to take over the tower I think? I didn't really understand what happened... Oh wait! The A.I. that you created built it when it realized that without you it wouldn't be controlled or something like that."

"I'm not too comfortable to keep talking about my own creations killing me." Hope muttered as he shook his head. "Either way. My point stands."

Noel shook his head not wanting to argue anymore. He pulled Hope up from his chair and towards the door. "Break time."

Hope laughed lightly, but he followed the other and then he stopped in the doorway. "Noel?" He asked quietly, cocking his head. "Are you okay?"

"I just... I'm still uncomfortable that's all."

"You don't have to be there anymore when I'm researching." Hope supplied as they walked towards the elevator.

"I want to be there. I have to..." Noel swallowed as the elevator door opened. "I have to follow it through."

Hope pursed his lips and turned to Noel took both his hands. "I wish there was another way. But... but from all I've seen there's nothing else. Caius wants to die. He will do anything. Either he dies... Or we all die."

Noel swallowed hard. He knew there was no way around it. He desperately wanted to yell at Hope that he was wrong, that things didn't have to be that way. But he knew, that there was no other way.


	11. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, I got a little late on the updates I think? Who knows, real life is evil. Either way, here's the next chapter hopefully I'll stay a bit more on track...

It wasn't often that Noel wasn't in the company of Hope. Mostly because of the whole 'bodyguard' thing but also because of the whole 'relationship' thing as well. But right now, he couldn't be around Hope right now. Mostly because he was down with the Council talking about the changes to his Ark and the future for mankind as well as the crystal pillar. But also, Noel was troubled.

He couldn't remember his grandmother. He couldn't remember her at all. Not her face, not her voice. Not even the lullabies she use to sing. His heart hurt and he wanted to mourn her again. Mourn her all alone. He swallowed hard as he tried painfully to remember anything, to open the doors to the blanks spaces within his mind. After a few minutes a dry sob left his shaking lips as he pressed his hands to his lips. How was he supposed to continue on like this? How was he even supposed to know who he was?

The silence seemed worse once the tears finally stopped. He scrubbed his hands across his eyes and sighed deeply. Red eyed and runny nosed he swallowed hard and stood up shakily. Looking at the clock in the quiet room found that it was nearly Hope's break time and he realized that he needed to get down to the office so the other wouldn't worry about where he was.

He hit the bathrooms and splashed water in his face a few times. His eyes were still red rimmed but there wasn't much he could do about that. Deciding that Hope probably wouldn't ask, he headed down to Hope's office. Only to find a surprise waiting for him.

***********************

Hope waited impatiently for Noel to come down to his office. There were signs that one of the gates was opening. He hoped that it was Snow and Serah but he also feared that it could be someone else like Sazh or even a thousand other scenarios that ran through his mind. The door slid open to permit Noel and Hope grabbed his hand and dragged him right back out it. Noel managed to turn and followed him as they made their way to the elevator.

"Wha-what's going on?" Noel asked quietly as the elevator took them down to the 500th floor.

"There's a sign of paradox activity! It might be Serah." The silver haired man exclaimed but as he paused and took a real look at his partner his excitement cooled down. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Noel responded quietly and Hope, wonderful and understanding Hope took his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Maybe later yeah?" He asked quietly and Noel nodded tightly. He knew that Hope would be empathetic to anything that he said but he wasn't sure of the other could really offer any comfort. He sighed deeply and squeezed the hand back and smiled thinly. "So dumbass is back?"

"I hope so." Hope smirked as the elevator opened. "Otherwise I'll have to kick his ass for giving me false hope."

*******************

The mainstreet gate in Academia wasn't terrible far form HQ. Mostly a quick ride on the moving sidewalks and then to the gate. Idly Noel found it weird they were moving towards the gate considering that Snow saw no need for them. And then he understood why. Snow wasn't locked to the gate, he was locked to them. A burst of bright light erupted in the sky and the Shiva motorcycle was easily spotted as it came screaming down it's ice roadway and came to a stop on a serve in front of them.

Thankfully away from most people. Although nosey onlookers were sure to come rushing towards them.

"Hey kiddos." Snow called as he swung his leg off his bike and Serah hopped off behind them. The pink haired girl was looking remarkably happy as she sidled up next to her hero and wrapped her arm around him. "We're all finished up on our end. What about you two?"

"Almost." Hope responded as he crossed his arms. "We have a lot to talk about actually. We should probably head back to HQ."

"Really?" Snow whined as he pulled Serah close. "We were hoping for a break to go on a date or something."

"SNOW!" Serah playfully pushed him. "There'll be plenty of time for that later."

"Actually... You should probably go ahead." Hope shrugged helplessly as he looked at a quiet Noel as he stared at the still present Shiva motorcycle. The scientist wanted to talk to his partner in privacy. Whatever was wrong was more then he had thought at first. And he knew that Noel didn't want to talk about it. He worried that it had to do with his memories. "Why don't you come to HQ around say.... 9 and we'll have a late meeting at my place and then you guys can go to the place I have set up for you."

"Place?" Serah asked with her eyes wide. Sure, way back in the Paddra Ruins there had been a tent for her and Noel to crash in but this seemed a bit differently.

"Yeah." Noel said as he finally spoke. "On the 600th floor is Hope's place and a few other sectioned off 'apartments' that were reserved for us. It was because Hope fibbed that there was many people shooting through the timelines courtesy of his experiments and that he's the anchor."

"Our anchor huh?" Snow gave a rather soft smile. "You're still too smart kid. Always was."

"We'll see you guys in a few hours kay?" Serah asked as she pulled on Snow's arm. "And put Shiva away you idiot."

"Yeah, yeah." Snow waved his hand and the motorcycle disappeared. 

Noel breathed out a sight of relief when as he watched them walk off. He didn't want to say anything out loud but he knew that he didn't want to talk to Serah right now. He bit his lip as Hope turned to face him. They watched each other for a moment but Hope didn't seem to find any words to say. The silence was uncomfortable and Hope sighed before turning and heading back towards HQ. Noel watched him walk for a few moments before he followed him.

While they were not an openly affectionate couple. Things were still a bit too new for that, Noel found himself missing the other's touch. He reached out and touched Hope's shoulder. As usual there was no hint of flesh visible but his face. Hope turned to face him and saw the troubled look on his face. The mage turned around and allowed the hunter to get into his personal space.

"What's up?" He asked quietly and Noel shook his head.

Hope stared up into his eyes for a few moments and then nodded sadly. Noel gestured towards HQ and sighed softly. "Can we be alone?"

Hope nodded at the despondent look and moved towards the building and into the elevator. Noel followed quickly and Hope hit the button for their floor. Once they made it home so to speak, Hope lead him down to the end of the hall were the balcony garden was. Outside, it was a little better then it had been inside or in the city. The garden was full of bushes and other plant life. Things that were common on Cocoon according to Hope as he lead Noel to a quiet, secluded corner.

"Tell me what's wrong?" The mage asked quietly as he held his partner's hand tightly. Noel leaned his head back and stared up into the bright blue sky.

"I've... I'm so tired of this Hope." He brought his head forward and leaned his body into Hope's. "I can barely remember them anymore. What... What happens next to me?"

He sounded so tired and hopeless that the silver haired man had to swallow against the discomfort that curled into his own stomach. He curled his arms around the hunter. He had no kind words to tell him. And had no idea of what to say. Hope tried to place himself in the other's shoes but the thought of forgetting the fourteen years that he'd gotten with her sent sharp pains of apprehension through his chest. He buried his face into Noel's hair and squeezed him tightly. 

"I'm sorry... that I haven't yet found much in the data I've collected. I mean... I-" Noel pulled back and smiled at Hope gently, his eyes wet with unshed tears.

"You don't have to work so hard on that you know... Cocoon comes first." He kissed Hope's mouth before he could speak. "I'll be fine."

No you won't, Hope thought as he cupped Noel's cheeks afraid to say it out loud. The silver haired man leaned forward and pressed his head to Noel's, eyes closed just enjoying the other's presence. Silence wasn't something that Hope was good with, but he let it go as they sat together for a few moments. When the silence became too much Hope spoke up.

"I made a promise." The mage started as he pulled back, a long time ago. "I made a promise to save everyone I could including you."

Noel sucked in a breath at those words. Somehow, when Hope would fall into his speeches of building a better future, of making things right. The hunter had never counted himself among that number. His future was so bleak looking, either he'd forget everything about who he was or he'd travel back to his own time when all this mess was over. He pulled Hope back close and kissed him hungrily.

Hope gasped in surprise as his mouth was attacked. He didn't know what he said that landed him in a kiss like this, but he knew that it was heading towards dangerous territory to be in such a public space. He grasped against Noel's lips as the hunter pulled him closer, his brute strength alone allowing him to pull the silver haired man into his lap. Hope pushed his shoulders and stared down into lust filled eyes. 

"Did you forget where we are dummy?" He asked as he bopped the other on the head. Noel shrugged lightly and pulled the smaller man closer. Hope swallowed hard as he felt Noel's erection against his thigh. The urge to touch was immediately awoken in him, but Hope had a strong sense of propriety and was not one to be exposed.

He glared down at Noel as he could feel his own manhood rising. Hope pulled out of his arms abruptly and Noel rose feeling as if he'd stepped out of bounds. Hope had a lot of invisible barriers that the brunette wasn't too sure of yet. Instead, his wrist was grabbed in an iron grip dragging him into the direction of the doors. Back to the scientist's apartment. Noel couldn't help the relieved smile that flashed across his face.

Once inside his own apartment, Hope ripped off his gloves and tossed them aside as he turned and pressed up against Noel, pushing him into the wall. Noel slipped his arms around the smaller man, one hand at his waist and the other lower. Hope groaned softly against Noel's lips, his own hands beginning to wander.

"Maybe we should make it to a bed?" Noel teased as he stared down at those bright eyes. Hope swallowed hard and leaned into him and closed his eyes. Noel smiled softly as he realized that the other was letting him choose. Hope was, much more experienced and while the hunter wasn't exactly sure of how far he wanted to go, he knew that he wanted it to be with the silver haired man. He figured that was enough for now. "Bed it is then."

Hope nodded and pulled back, walking ahead he looked back at Noel with a little smile as he took off his jacket and put it in it's place on the back of the couch. Noel watched him walk away until he was out of sight before he pushed off the door and followed. When the hunter reached the bedroom the silver haired man was already shirtless and undoing his pants.

Noel sucked in a breath, he'd seen the other man in various states of undress before, but somehow this time. When he'd felt the extent of what the other had felt for him. It felt different. It felt like he'd truly left the outside world, there... Outside of the bedroom that he now shared with the older man as he approached him. The brunette approached the half dressed scientist and pulled him to him. Noel stroked incredibly pale skin and laid kisses along the path his hand had taken.

"I think... I owe you the chance... to explore." Hope murmured as he untucked Noel's shirt and messaged his back. "You can touch me anywhere."

Noel shuddered at those words, even though he had touched the other before, he had always worried that Hope had off limit spaces. He seemed to with the way he covered himself up at work and any other time of the day. On the other hand, he'd found that when he was around those from the fall...and well him. the mage wasn't reserved at all. Like opposing natures.

"Do you like it?" He asked as he toyed with Hope's waistline, wondering it was okay to push the other's pants off. "Being touched?"

"I love being touched." Hope admitted a faint blush across his pale cheeks. "But I'm horribly selective about who touches me."

"Even friendly touches?" Noel teased a smile lightly across his lips as he thought about when he'd first met the other, who'd shied away from everyone but Serah's touch.

"...being touched is very personal don't you think?" Hope asked as he pressed his hands to Noel's bare chest. "Most touches can become intimate with just a little shift." A finger brushed across his partner's nipple. "You have to trust that the person understands what your limits are."

Noel groaned and pulled the other close and crushed his mouth to Hope's. The other had a reasonable explanation for most things he did. But he knew it was that the other was in a time with people he would leave. It was hard to gain Hope's trust and to realize that amount of access he had to the other was mind blowing.

Noel couldn't help himself as he pushed Hope's pants and underwear down, craving the touch of bare skin. The silver haired man stepped out of his pants and move towards the bed. He cast a look back over his shoulder as Noel's eyes followed all the spare lines of the mage's body. Hope turned back and looked at the hunter.

"Get off those clothes and get over here." Hope ordered and Noel immediately stripped off and got on the bed, coming down over the older man. They stared into each other's eyes a moment before kissing deeply. Noel moved to explore but the smaller man stopped him and cupped his face. "This time, you're on top. I can tell now that you're too tense." Hope's bright eyes watched him as the other came to understand what he meant. Noel couldn't help but blush and look away.

Hope turned his face back and kissed him slowly. Noel willed himself to relax as he leaned back into the kiss. Hands slowly moved around the silver haired man's body. Noel quickly discovering sensitive places and getting drunk off the moans that left Hope's mouth. Noel wrapped his hand around the other's thick erection and started a careful rhythm. Hope groaned and pulled Noel's mouth against his. As the speed picked up, Hope reached down and stopped his hand.

"Not yet." The mage warned and his own impatience made it impossible for him to teach Noel what came next.

Instead the hunter gasped in shock and a bit of embarrassment as the older man spread his legs wider. Hope fumbled with the drawer at his side and came back with a bottle of something that Noel wasn't sure of what it was. Coating his fingers in it, the scientist reached for a place that Noel hadn't expected to become a part of their intimacy.

Hope bit his lip at the slow press. Though experienced, it had been quite a while since he'd found someone that he'd wanted to share himself with in this way. Most certainly it hadn't happened at any point in time that he'd been in 400AF. The time blending into work and sleep with nothing else. He watched as the hunter's eyes seemed to be captivated by his moving fingers. Putting on a bit more of a show, he made sure he had the dark haired man's attention as he pushed them into that sensitive place, mouth falling open in a groan.

Remembering that Hope said that he could touch as much as he wanted, Noel reached out and touched those fingers. He wrapped his hand around Hope's, adjusting the older man's speed. Feeling what resistance the entrance was still giving. He looked up at Hope hungrily.

"Can I?" He asked quietly. The older man nodded, slipping out his own fingers with a soft sound. He wrapped his hand around the younger man's and guided two of the fingers into himself. Noel's fingers were shorter but thicker. The rough calluses causing a different sensation that Hope was finding addicting all on it's own. He reached out and pulled the other down on him as he tried different things, finding his mouth and kissing him ardently. 

When it became too much for the smaller man he pushed on those fingers and pushed the hunter into sitting up. He reached for the bottle again. And used it to coat Noel's erection. Although Noel had known from the get go that this was where things were going, it was altogether weird to realize that soon he would be inside the man he admired so much. Feeling overwhelmed he wasn't sure of where to move or what to do.

"Calm down." Hope kissed his nose and rolled them over so that he was on top. He still couldn't help himself, he need to control at least some of what was happening. Noel stared up at him wide eyed. Noel laid his hands on Hope's hips watching hungrily as he carefully guided Noel inside and slowly sunk down fully on the younger male.

Noel hissed as he was engulfed into the other's tightness. He groaned and tilted his head back as his hands clenched at the other's waist. Hope smiled down at him, placing his hands on the strong abdomen in front of him and watched as his lover enjoyed being inside him as he got use to the youth's girth. After a long quiet moment, Hope shifted and slowly begin to move himself on the other.

"Fuck." Noel groaned as he clutched at the other, his own hips beginning to move with the other's rhythm. Hope moaned in response as he enjoyed the pace and feeling as he relaxed into the pleasure. 

Drunk off of sensation Noel lifted up on to his elbows and Hope leaned down clutching at each other as they kissed passionately. The hunter protested as the mage lifted off of him and rolled them so that the other was on top. He smiled up at him almost apologetically.

"I said that you could touch and then I took over, sorry." Hope smiled gently and shifted into position and slowly eased Noel back inside. Noel felt a little unsure of what to do but Hope's warm encouragement pulled him in and he began a slow driving rhythm.

"Gods." Hope hissed as he curled into the taller man. Noel tensed but Hope began pulling on him encouraging him to move more. Noel groaned as fingernails dug into his back and he began to move harder, drunk off the other and seeking completion.

Too impatient to wait for the other Hope reached down and wrapped a hand around his own erection. Noel groaned at the feeling of Hope's hand squeezed between them as they moved against each other roughly. Overloaded and drunk on sensation, Noel orgasmed first as he clutched at Hope's body and groaned out the other's name. Hope moaned at the sensation of being filled and pleasured himself to completion as he continued to be held tightly in his lover's embrace.

Hope relaxed down on the bed and Noel collapsed down on top of him. When it looked like the hunter wasn't going to move, Hope shoved him roughly.

"Shower time." He ordered as he rolled their bodies and stood up.

"But I'm tired." Noel whined lightly.

"Well... if you want Snow to see you like that, you can take a nap!" Hope turned on his heel and pressed a hand to his mouth to cover his laughter as he headed for the shower. Noel's sputtering mock rage following him in.

********************************

It was hours after their time spent within Hope's bedroom that Serah and Snow showed up. Serah knocked politely on the door and it had surprised Hope who assumed that Snow would just bust in. He gestured them to the couches and stuff and moved into the kitchen to make drinks as Noel slumped down into one of the recliners and closed his eyes. The remaining three stared at each other in nervousness and contemplation. Finally Serah spoke before Snow could blunder in.

"It's been a while hasn't it?" She asked quietly, clasping her hands together. "Snow and I managed to fix the timelines responsible for making me a time maiden. How about things here?"

"It's been a bit of a disaster really." Noel muttered under his breath as he leaned forward. "In fact, you should probably be careful in your time around here. There's a terrorist group after Hope, who wants to stop the Cocoon project."

"Well that's dumb." Snow rolled his eyes skyward and then looked back at them. "Are you sure this supposed terrorist group in running on all cylinders? I mean, I don't want the kid to die or anything... He's family. But let's be serious. Have you looked outside at that junkyard? The government here has invested a lot of money into the new Cocoon and it would take a lot more then the death of one person, to disrupt such a happening. Especially since Hope wasn't even around for nearly 400 years of work and research on the project."

The other two winced. While Snow was observant and on many occasions had good points. It didn't make sense to target Hope in this time after he'd all ready accomplished the belief that Cocoon will fall and that a new Ark was needed. While some argued whether it should be a temporary or permanent home, there was too much research that had been down about how lethal the crystal dust could be. The group all sighed in discomfort.

"Well... you have somewhat of a point." Hope replied quietly as he walked back in, startling them all out of their somber moment. Snow flushed a bit, he hadn't meant to be heard by the younger (older) man. "But, these people don't really care about Cocoon being built or much about my influence on the building. They want to build a Fal'cie."

"Like the one you told me about!" Snow looked at Serah and the other nodded numbly.

"But Hope... even if that's true... We managed to change the timeline. Research was abandoned before you even made any headway."

"I do believe they have access to a paradox." Hope replied quietly. "And they know they need a pulse vestige and most of those have been taken by the government... to help build the new ark and to power the settlements."

"Well... if they have access to a paradox shouldn't they know better?"

"I don't know what they have access to. Remember how it looks from the outside. The people who are there think they live in a paradise. And the people who are here probably think that we are depriving them of that. Because it's common knowledge that Cocoon will fall, the crystal pillar will break..." Hope dropped in a seat and took a deep breath. "It's also common knowledge that a Fal'cie could keep Cocoon from falling."

"Or maybe they're stupid enough to think they can control it." Noel grumbled and Hope laughed lightly.

"If only it were that easy." Snow grumped as he remember the harsh truths that he was exposed to during his original world saving adventure. The l'cie seemed to contemplate things for a moment and then sighed deeply in discontent. "It still doesn't make sense why just you."

"I haven't quite discovered that."

"Maybe it's because of your magic?" Noel asked.

"Magic?!" Snow and Serah both gasped loudly.

"I've been able to use my magic for a long time now. I'm no l'cie by any means, nor do I have that ability but... That's not commonly known."

"This is a terrorist group." Snow replied annoyed.

"And a sophisticated one." Serah added. "What's to say that they don't know about your powers from their paradox information. Or worse, they know of some pivotal point that Lightning has missed and aimed it to move against home.

"That's all well and good." Snow interrupted as he reached for the glass of alcohol that Hope had thankfully bought him. "But our primary concern in still Caius. 500AF is still the time that he will most likely strike. All signs point to that being when the pillar will fall."

"The ark won't be ready before then either." Hope responded as he took a sip of his own drink. "Too many people to move. Humanity has flourished in a way that's...."

"That's amazing." Noel replied firmly before he grasped his hands together. "Caius wants to stop Yeul from dying. She... Every time the timeline changes she dies and is reborn."

"Well that's something we already know." Snow replied softly, not meaning to be unkind. "She dies in response to the things we've been doing as well. The thing that's troubling is that he wants to do more then just unleash chaos from what Lightning told me... He wants to complete the Fal'cie goal."

"Opening the gate." Hope hissed bitterly.

"...the gate?" Serah asked as he looked between Snow and Hope, Noel looked just as lot as she felt.

"The goal of the Fal'cie... To open the gate to the unseen realm." Hope replied and Noel found himself vaguely understanding where this was going. "I think we've talk about it before... In random bits and pieces but... All Fal'cie have a goal I've found. And it's to open the gate to the unseen realm. I learned about this as I studied the history. Bhunivelze... the creator of our world. In the history passed down by the Fal'cie in Eden's library all Fal'cie are searching. Pulse created Fal'cie to search in the world we live in and to raise an army for the battle he wanted to fight. Lindzei... the Cocoonian Fal'cie were to make a gate."

"Make a gate?" Serah asked, her face paling. "That's why they wanted to destroy Cocoon?!"

"Supposedly there is something beyond that the gods were seeking. Some say another god... Some say to defeat some evil." Hope explained quietly.

"The chaos?" Snow asked as he set his drink down. "Etro exists in the unseen realm as does chaos. She's a god who died."

"They have no interest in reviving Etro. And either way, what Caius wants to do is kill Etro." Noel replied bitterly. "She's the reason for time, the goddess of life and death."

"Of humans." Hope pointed out quietly. "Caius wants to release the chaos. Which has something to do with the gods' goals. Which means that at some point in time... We could be dealing with much deadly things then this."

"In the future though." Serah pointed out. "If Caius completes his objectives."

"We've gotten off topic!" Snow grumbled waving his hand before he picked up his cup of alcohol. "This terrorist group. Caius. Forget what the Fal'cie wanted."

"I'm not sure we can." Hope's face turned a bit solemn. "At some point, the gate will open and there is nothing we can do to stop it."


	12. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp... I kind of killed of the idea of a posting schedule. But I do still hope to get this done before the New Year so I can start another story.

Snow and Serah settled into life in Academia much faster and better then Noel had. The hunter figured it was because Cocoon had been much like this. A zenith of technological accomplishment. On the other hand, he was still having trouble coping. Most things he understood in theory but most certainly not in real life. And furthermore he was bored. Snow had settled in with the Guardian Corps trying to sniff out the terrorist group that was after Hope. Serah was working for Academia as Hope's assistant and Noel was technically still the mage's bodyguard.

Of course, this was all temporary work. According to Hope they would have to travel into the future to the year 500AF where their plans would come to fruition. Also, when Caius was most likely to attack. But first there were preparations to make now. And more importantly Hope had his own goals to achieve. He wanted to restore Noel's memories as well as figure out a way to store Etro's heart. Noel wasn't quite sure if either was doable. But if anyone could do it was Hope.

Mostly, they waited around for a sign from Lightning that they were on the right track. According to Snow, they should hear from her within the month and know what to do then. But time was fickle and Noel was worried about what would happen if no news ever came. He was in the garden of the apartment block that the Academy had given to Hope and the rest of them. Even now the hunter couldn't help but stare longingly beyond the city limits. Academia was a giant city yes, close to the crystal pillar where one of the few human cities existed.

But beyond that was the wilds of Pulse. Fal'cie and monsters for the hunter. Research sites that probably would have excited Hope much more then the bullshit they dealt with now. New Bodhum, though much different then what he'd seen when he'd went to get Serah. Noel sighed, he knew that he could probably go out there, but he wanted to go there with Serah or Hope, even Snow at this point he was so bored. It was too dangerous to go out now unfortunately with the terrorist group around. And still no sign of a motive.

"That's where you went to." He looked up and Serah and smiled brightly, this was a friend, one of the few friends that he'd ever had.

"I like being out here better." He shrugged lightly and she laughed.

"Yeah, being in the city is a bit hard." She admitted as she sat down on a synthetic stone bench. "Being in New Bodhum is much better... I think Hope's the only one of us that actually came from a big city."

"Palumpolum right?" He asked quietly and she nodded.

Cocking her head to the side Serah looked out into the city. "The ruins of it still exist on Cocoon I'm sure. Maybe not in very good condition though. I remember that in the days after... He and his father recovered what they could of the apartment. It had been shot up during the events before the fall."

"What do you mean 'shot up?'" Noel asked vaguely alarmed. He and Hope had talked about his hometown and his parents. But only events before the Purge. Never anything about those days.

"His mother died in the Purge right? Well... before they really started the journey to stop the Cocoonian Fal'cie, Snow and Lightning had been committed to getting him home to his father. Snow had promised after all..." She trailed off. "I don't really know too terribly much. I just know that they made it there and his father tried to help them... but the Sanctum knew they were there. Or knew they would go there. Hope was the only one who really had family left. So... the Sanctum attacked his home for harboring l'cie."

"..." Noel's mouth opened and shut a few times, but he found that he didn't have much to say. Hope didn't often talk about his past but it was mostly due to the fact that Hope was more interested in the future. There was little he cared to speak about of the past. His mother, but only before the Purge. Fond childhood memories. Noel sometimes wished that he could remember his own mother's face. Or well, anyone from the village this point.

"His father built this you know?" Serah suddenly spoke again. "The Academy I mean. Hope often said that without a doubt his father believed in them immediately and in the aftermath wanted to create a place where his son would never be hunted again."

Noel scoffed slightly as he thought of their terrible adventures with the terrorists so far. Serah cut him a look and Noel sighed sheepishly. "I wasn't... Not against his dad... just..."

Serah nodded to herself and turned back to the great view that they had in the garden. She sighed softly and looked down at her hands. "I talked to Hope earlier. He said that we would have to continue on our journey you and I. The one Lightning started."

"What? Leave him and Snow here? What good what that do..." Noel trailed off as he swallowed hard. "To stop Caius." He found he still couldn't say kill. He still after everything didn't want to kill his friend and mentor.

"Hmmm." She agreed slightly and looked back over at him. "It sounds kind of nostalgic now. The idea of us traveling together."

Noel hummed an agreement. He had the urge to leave and go do something else. He wasn't sure of what to do. Just the very thought of facing Caius with the intent to kill made him feel sick to his stomach. He wasn't one for hiding away though as his insides continue to twist.

"I saw Lightning." Serah started quietly. "While Snow and I were traveling. I haven't told him yet. I've been kind of afraid about it."

"But wasn't it important? I mean our mission..."

"She told me... That we would all be together in the end. All of us... Sazh, Daijh, Fang, Vanille..." She trailed off slightly and then looked at him. "You as well. In the future. I remember being so happy about it. Thinking that my family. The family that I'd made would be together. Until I realized that Gadot and the rest of Nora wouldn't be there. Hope's father is gone too."

"But that doesn't make sense!" Noel protested. "I would go back to 700AF right? And you all would..." He swallowed hard as he thought of Hope talking about his sacrifice. He thought about what Snow had said seemingly so long ago. This was a battle they could win, but the cost would be high. It seemed it was beginning to be too high for the hunter's taste.

"No." She stared down at her hands and then away from him. "We can't... We can't undo all this. That's what Lightning told me. The chances of us stopping Caius is good. But... We can never go back. That's what Lightning said."

"What does that mean? Will we all just stay in 500AF? I mean, that's where the finally battle is. The last shatter point in this timeline. She sent us on this road to tear out Caius' heart and THEN WHAT?!" He was standing and shouting before he even realized what he was doing.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Serah shouted back before she deflated. "That's why I haven't told anyone else yet. She didn't say what time we'd end up in. But I know it's not our time. And I know it's not your time. I thought... All I can think is that we are going to be punished. And you... It's our fault. You will be punished with us."

"What do you mean punished?" Noel asked as he sat back down, attempting to be calmer now. Not just for her sake but his own.

"When a l'cie completes their focus. They are meant to remain crystal until the Fal'cie wakens them for another mission. Our master... Anima... Lightning and the others killed it with their own hands. At the bottom of the Bresha Lake ruins. The sea of crystal beyond the part we explored... You remember? Those are what's left of Anima. We should have remained crystal forever."

"But Etro saved you right? When I met Lightning she told me that Etro awakened you."

"Yes and that brought the chaos!" Serah pointed out but Noel shook his head lightly and moved closer to his friend, his best friend and took her hand.

"No... I think." He took a deep breath. "I think Etro woke all of you to stop the chaos, even if that event hadn't happened Caius would have still be working to open the gate and kill Etro. The Fal'cie would still have been-"

Loud sirens began going off in the building and both of them shot up nervously. Above the sirens came a voice over the intercom. "Breach, breach. Intruders have invaded the building. All soldiers report to defense positions. Enemy combatants on the research floors."

"Hope." Noel gasped as he turned trusting Serah to be behind him as he dashed towards the elevator to get down to the 500th floor research block.

*****************************

Hope gasped as he turned the corner and ran. His left hand pressed tightly against his waist. The light bullet had punched through his lower side and while he could hear the sounds of fighting behind him. He knew he was in a bad position. They had all be caught off guard. When the guards had flooded the floor, much in the same way they'd had long ago during Snow's strong entrance to stop Alyssa. He had simply thought that something was going down. Not that that set of guards would be terrorists.

He had dived out of the room, he had to get to the emergency system. Half stumbling, and half walking he whimpered as he slid along the wall. Finding the building wide alarm, he slammed his fist against it and winced as the loud klaxon alarm system startling him. 

"Someone set off the alarm! Find them!" Someone commanded from the main hub.

Hope groaned knowing they would begin trying to secure the floor and count their hostages. He was one of the few people who worked in this sector with silver hair. They would probably notice him gone fairly quickly. Especially when he was probably who they were looking for. Feeling the shock and pain slowly beginning to settle a bit. He laid his left hand on his waist.

"Cure." He whispered and waited for the glow to fade before pulling his hand out from his shirt and looked around. This floor was mostly large open rooms and few places to hide. It was probably only a short amount of time before he was caught. And without a partner and minus his boomerang he would mostly be a long range fighter.

Cursing to himself he made his way towards the back block where the service elevators and stairs were. It wouldn't very useful to him, especially if the terrorist had blocked that area off. But for right now, it was the best plan he had. With a hiss of pain Hope crashed through the door as a body collided with his. He stared up into the eyes of Arcane and she smiled at him grimly.

"What the hell are you doing down here?" Hope hissed as he laid on his side staring up at her.

"Let's just say I had a feeling." She commented as she pushed him further into the storage closet.

"We should get to the elevators." He said as he sat up slowly wincing in pain.

"No can do." Arcane shut the door quietly and sheathed her gunblade. "These assholes have all the usual exits secure. I'd take you through the ventilation system but our own anti-spy shit has us at a loss. Especially with an injury like that."

Hope nodded grimly. He worked himself into a comfortable position and lifted his shirt up to actually look at the wound. It was a mess, the wound was worse then he thought. Jagged lines were etched into his side from the rounds fired. He hadn't been able to distinguished what had happened between the pain and the adrenaline. It looked like a whole round of light pulse bullets had hit him.

"That looks like it should have you down for the count." Arcane commented as she pulled out a potion and skin slim bandages. She tossed them at him and the silver haired man began to clean and care for his wound. "Lightning said you were tough but I didn't know you were that tough."

"Lightning?" Hope's head jerked up and looked at her with wide eyes. Arcane's eyes widened and then she winced, her purple eyes rolling skyward. Hope watched as her right hand, dark skin with pale splotches was rubbed across her face.

"I don't know how much I am allowed to tell you but... Lightning visited me in a dream." She paused as they heard gunfire outside. Confirming it was heading away from them she continued on. "She told me to protect the 'hope of the future.' At first I thought she was talking about the Cocoon project. And thus I signed up for the Guardian Corps. But then I met you."

"But..."

"She chose Noel didn't she? To protect Serah... and she chose me to protect you." Arcane commented off handedly.

"But Noel?" Hope flushed and Arcane laughed softly.

"I doubt she foresaw most of what has happened when she made the initial decisions. She's the goddess' protector not an actual goddess." Arcane sunk down the wall and leaned her head forward. "While this is all a good distraction, we should probably focus more on the fact that this floor is flooded with people who want you dead."

"Sadly." Hope replied as he finished securing off the bandages. "This is not something new to me. Anything I can learn about Lightning is much more interesting to me."

"Oh ho ho, should I inform Noel of this?" Arcane tease lightly as she checked her bullets.

"I'm not in love with Lightning." Hope flushed at the thought. He was devoted to Lightning in a lot of ways. Mostly because he cared about all his friends deeply and what had happened to Lightning and Vanille and Fang were all things he needed to fix, but he guessed he did talk about Lightning more. After all, she was the one that he knew nothing about. Figuring out where she was and of course Serah's almost singleminded focus on her sister had led him-

"All right. You are thinking of this far too much." Arcane stood up after the silence had stretched on for a few moments. "I need to get you off this floor."

"But how? You said all the usual exits are closed." Hope pushed himself into a standing position.

"Well they are." Arcane reached up and pulled aside her shirt to reveal a strange mark. It was the mark that Noel often talked about when he discussed his culture with him. The mark of Etro."It doesn't make me an awesome warrior like a l'cie. But it does allow me little perks."

"What do you mean perks?" Hope asked grumpily and then paused. "Wait... You can summon?"

"Well sorta." She flushed a bit and then turned around. "I have a vehicle summon. She can't fight but then again... you've probably just never noticed her."

"Noticed her?"

"Ever notice I always have some sort of transportation when we need it? That's her... Her name is Chariot."

"Wait... then what are you planning?" Hope asked nervously as he stared at her.

"While it's not a perfect idea.. If all else fails I figure I can bust open a window and we can use Chariot as a ride to get to another floor."

Hope felt a little queasy at that but he nodded. He wasn't comfortable with impromptu rides in dangerous situations. He still felt nervous as he remembered all the faulty vehicles that he had to deal with back when he was a l'cie dealing with Pulsian technology. He found the more things got heated up around here, the more his mind wanted to align things to back then. As Arcane began to formulate her plan, Hope swallowed hard as his own apprehension grew worse. The research floor was the 500th floor of the Academy HQ and dangling from a building was not on his list of reasonable pastimes.

The ringing of their ears as an explosion sounded at the end of the hall brought both of them back to a general consensus. Explosions were highly dangerous in tall buildings. Especially if near the wrong points. While the building itself was built to withstand most things that would cause it to collaspe it wasn't an impossible gambit either. Especially if the terrorists were really determined to make it so.

"Maybe the calvary?" Arcane asked optimistically as she checked her equipment and stood up. "Our position isn't safe enough to wait it out so..."

"Not much else to do." Hope grunted as he stood up and stretched slowly, testing his limits. The gunshot wounds from earlier were still messy. No longer bleeding as far as he could tell but the internal damage was probably worse then he thought. Not good for close quarters combat. "You'll have to maintain distance. I think I'm support only."

Arcane regarded him faintly. There was no way he'd be able to use his boomerang in such narrow areas anyway. She had always regarded Hope as having relatively low close combat skills. Mages were distance fighters and his boomerang was only useful to help maintain that distance really.

"How about casting offensively? Still think that's a go?"

Hope nodded stiffly. Honestly, as bad as this had turned his day out to be throwing a few lightning and areo spells sounded like a good solution to his problems. Arcane turned to the door and slid it opened slowly. She checked both ways, hands on her gunblade and then pulled it out as she moved into the doorway. "While it's safe to say it's probably useless let's go with your original plan. If help is coming the service elevators are where it's coming from."

Hope nodded immediately and let Arcane lead the way as they crept down the hall. Another set of explosions sent Hope to his knees. His balance already compromised from the blood loss. He groaned slightly turned to Arcane weakly. "I can't make it much farther if this keeps up. It's probably already reopened."

"Just a little farther." Arcane replied gently as she helped lift him up. "We've got to get to the elevators. If more explosions keep happening they are going to try and disassemble the building to save it from collapsing."

"And then what happens?" He asked grumpily.

"They will move the affected portions to outside the city. Every 5 floors has it's own propulsion system to lift it up and move it just past city limits to prevent as much damage as possible for all the government buildings that could be attacked. If we're really unlucky... They'll just blow it up once it's outside."

"You can't be serious." Hope rasped as he shakily moved behind her.

"Well... It's mostly meant as a preventative measure to get faulty parts of buildings out of the way. But... There's only so long the building can maintain flight. They'd have to get it out of the way. I know you know that the buildings can come apart in case of emergency-"

"It was made." Hope interrupted her. "To make evacuating to the new Cocoon easier. Not to send people to their deaths.

"You're faith in humanity continues to astound me." Arcane admonished gently.

"THERE THEY ARE!" Someone shouted. And Hope crouched down and closed his eyes. He was too weak to do much more and the building was shaking again. The explosion erupted almost simultaneously with the impending attack but the sound of bullets against steel and the angry sound of a Moggle being thrown forced him to open his eyes. In front of him stood Noel, arms holding his swords forward as he defended the injured scientist.

"Noel?" Hope asked as the building was rocked again this time more violent then before. The building was separating. Hope was jerked back and he slammed into the wall head first. Almost immediately, Noel, who had hit the wall beside him was curled around him, supporting his body.

The scientist opened his eyes weakly and cursed as he realized someone was wrong with the blocks propulsion system, the floor was tilting. He clung to Noel and watched as everything slid towards the wall they were against, thankful the floor didn't have a lot of funiture in the hall and that most it was also nailed down.

"This isn't right." Serah called out as she kneeled on the floor, her weapon gone as the Moggle floated above her head, flittering nervously. "They said they weren't going to separate the floors."

"Each group of floors has it's own control system as well as the central. It seems our terrorists targeted it. Which would explain the hard ride. The other 200 floors aren't mean to come with it. The sections operate on a 5 floor system. Hopefully the controllers of the other floors will separate otherwise we won't stay airborne long!"

Hope's ears were too busy ringing for him to add his thoughts to the situation. Instead he moaned miserably as Noel's hands searched his hair coming away covered in blood. He winced roughly and Noel emitted a low curse.Another jerk in the building sent them falling the other way before the building slowly righted.

"That... Would be us being fully separated." Snow said as he stood up and stared out the window. "Guess we're being kidnapped."

"Like hell we are." Arcane stood up and brandished her sword. Their attackers from before were both incapacitated or even dead from slamming into the wall head first. Much harder then Hope had unfortunately. "Hope needs medical aid and we need a base. From there, were are going to take this floor back."

"Just this one? What if they are on the other five?" Serah asked as she stood up and called to Moggle.

"We'll get to that later. The main thing is to take back control and the controls are on this floor." Arcane replied. "If we can land it peacefully outside the city limits and get ahold of the Guardian Corps everything should go well."

"Well for us?" Noel asked as he looked down at a still ailing Hope. The hits that the other took looked bad and he wasn't all too sure that Hope could handle much more.

"The lounge." Hope finally croaked out. "It's a good defensible position."

"Sounds good." Snow replied. "What direction?"

"It should be over in the next hallway." Serah replied as she knelt down on the other side of the scientist. A soft healing spell stopped the bleeding and had Hope thinking a bit more clearly. "I can probably do more for him if we get there."

Noel nodded and with a grimace at what he knew was going to happen, he carefully picked the mage up. Hope hit him (the silver haired man hit harder then he thought!) and glowered as the hunter shifted him in his arms. Serah smiled at them thinly and Hope started to struggle.

"Me or Snow?" Noel asked quietly and Hope quickly calmed down into his partner's arms. Arcane looked between the two remaining fighters and sighed deeply. She wasn't worried about anyone's abilities but this was not going to be easy. 

"I'll take point." The purple eyed woman commanded as she flipped her gunblade into a gun and lifted it up in front of her. "Snow take rear."

The large man grumbled but followed her direction. Arcane started down the hallway. Everyone was tense waiting for an attack. Hope found himself ailing and he curled further into Noel. Arcane tried to move around the corner but there was a hail of fire and she reared back, slamming into Serah who had to balance herself on the wall. Hope whimpered at the sound, it sounded more like the loud klaxon horns he had turned on earlier and it caused his already aching head even more pain.

"Hey... Stay with me." Noel whispered quietly, wishing he could actually cradle the other but Hope wasn't as light as he looked, muscle hiding up his Academy uniform.

"Snow with me." Arcane ordered.

"I can fight." Serah hissed at the perceived slight.

"I need a long distance fighter to protect the director." She looked at her. "If someone comes around the back end we'll need your bow and arrow."

Serah nodded and gestured to Moggle who turned around and took point behind Noel and Hope keeping watch. Noel gritted his teeth as Arcane and Snow charged around the corner. He wanted to be with them helping, but he also didn't want to leave Hope behind being so weak. The other had taken a few terrible hits and his head wound was worrying him as the other continued to be dizzy and weak. After what seemed like too long Arcane turned back around the corner grim faced.

"Let's go." She commanded and spun on her heel.

The two rushed to follow her, Snow further ahead guarding the door to the lounge. It was more of a distance then Hope remembered and between the pain in his head and the pain in his side that made him want to vomit. Once inside the room, Noel laid him down on the longest couch in the room. Serah grabbed a few pillows off another and used them to adjust Hope down.

"Noel, there's a sink could you get me a few cupfuls of water? And napkins or towels if the have them." Serah ordered as she knelt next to Hope's head and slowly turned his head before sorting her way though blood stained hair. The hunter moved towards the sink and carefully gathered the supplies the other asked for on a tray. He came to kneel down beside her and hissed as he saw the bruised cut on the other's head.

"It's not as serious as it looks." Serah murmured as she continued to attend to the wound and Noel had to remind himself that it wasn't like his time period were such an injury could spell death. He rocked back on his heels and willed himself to calm down. There was a quiet moment and then Snow spoke up.

"So who has a map to plan strategy? Or can we do it my way?"


	13. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot! Another late update. Actually today was my last day of work for the year. While I can't assure faster updates. I can assure you that I will most likely get a good bulk of it up before I go back to work in Janurary!

Noel groaned at the others words. Of course Snow's idea of helping was to go in guns blazing so to speak. He turned to glare at the blond man and then turned back to Hope who's breath was shallow as Serah continued to work on healing the head wound.

"There's a computer terminal here that will have a map." Arcane stated as she leaned tiredly against the wall. "The problem is, is that we don't know how many jackasses we are up against."

"Maybe this has something to do with the Fal'cie tech? But isn't that in Augusta Tower?" Serah stated and noticed the stoned look on Arcane's face.

"I guess I should have assumed that you all would know classified information." She breathed deeply. "Yes, all the data on Fal'cie study is at Augusta Tower...Most of which can only be accessed with codes that only a very few people have. Which is why we originally thought that they wanted Hope alive. But as Hope explained to me they don't need that because they have access to a paradox. But... all things pulse vestige are here. And nearly all of the pulse vestiges in this time have been confiscated by the government for the cocoon project."

"Then you think they did this to get access to a vestige?" Snow asked as he face turned serious. He looked to Hope who had lost consciousness sometime during Serah's treatment as his fiancé continued to treat him. "But that still doesn't make enough sense. Vestiges are hard to steal. Even to remove the one that had been on Cocoon another Fal'cie... A giant flying one had to remove it."

Arcane grimly looked away. "At this point I don't think their aim is simply a vestige."

"Then what could they be aiming for?" Snow asked. "If we know what they are doing then we can make a much better game plan."

A loud gasp was heard as Hope came back to consciousness. Serah smiled sheepishly, her hands still glowing from the revival magic. The silver haired man collapsed back against the couch groaning in pain. He turned on his side, most of the pain was merely memory as most injuries were healed or gone. Noel grasped his hand as he moved a little closer to the mage.

"Fuck." Hope cursed softly. "I don't think fighting that Fal'cie was this bad."

"Well you didn't have head trauma then." Arcane pointed out helpfully.

Hope sat up carefully and looked over at Arcane. He sighed softly and turned to look at Snow with a determined face. "I think, that this is seriously becoming a problem. Is there a terminal in here a detachable terminal in here."

"Are you really thinking of doing work here?" Snow asked in disbelief.

"Of course not." Hope rolled his eyes and looked down at Noel with a soft smile and nodded at him to go get the datapad for him. "I'm going to hack into the buildings system and take it over. This is our most defensible position. I'm not really sure I can do it... but if the pad is still connected to the building's system I probably can."

"Are you just pulling shit out of your ass?" Arcane asked quietly.

"Right now I'm strictly a non-combantant. As long as they have control we can't risk other injuries." He looked to Serah. "While this is a team of talented fighters... I'm tired of dealing with this terrorist group. This is not the best of plans. But I'm going to try it."

"You're thinking of something further then just right now."

"You would be right." Hope smiled and looked at them. "I'm thinking of the next move."

"You're insane. What you've just done isn't even possible!" Serah blasted. "You were just unconscious and suffering from a dangerous head wound. You can't tell me that you were just lying in wait thinking of new plans of what to do!"

"Of course I wasn't." Hope turned to her and his smile grew bright. "I talked to Lightning."

The soft gasp from the younger Farron was expected as she stared up him. Throughout their adventures meeting with Lightning was rare as she was without time. And she had thought that she was done contacting them until they had fully completed this phase. Part of her wanted to tack it up to the scientist having an hallucination but she also knew that when one was in states of unconsciousness it was easier for the goddess' hero to contact them.

"Well... since I can 'talk to machines' I can probably hack into the mainframe and take control from them. Which will have them sending waves of troops to our position. The most important part is to keep them busy until we can get to a landing site. There, the army should be able to come in and flush them out."

"Well that's a mouthful." Snow complained.

"When we get back to Academia... Or at least when once we are done with all this... We'll go to 500AF. You three will take the gates and I'll go back into the gravity well."

"I'm going with you." Arcane stated firmly, her purple eyes hard.

"Arcane you belong here." Hope protested as he took the terminal from Noel. "I couldn't ask you to leave your family."

"I actually don't belong here." Arcane admitted softly. "I'm actually from the time 300AF. Lighting spoke to me about coming here to protect you. I was under a program that you weren't allowed privy to."

"Hey! You didn't explain that to me!" Hope stated in shock. It never occurred to him that they would send others into the gravity well. 

"I had a disease that for the time wasn't all that curable. Because I was higher military brass they allowed me to enter a gravity well along with several others who were awoken in this time. Most of them are in regular military branches doing whatever. I on the other hand was more targeted because of Lightning."

"Makes sense." Snow shrugged. "She always had a soft spot for the kid."

"Then Arcane will come with me." Hope sighed, not really wanting to fight. Right now he was just too tired to fight. But the promise of getting back to Academia and back to his bed was far more tempting then anything else. He shifted slowly, limbs still pained from previous injuries, Serah was a good healer but probably not as good as Vanille. "We should get to work."

"What do you need Serah and I to do?" Noel asked standing up and dusting off his pants.

"I need you two to protect the director." Arcane ordered as she looked pointedly at Noel. "Snow and I will make some noise on the other end of the floor to keep people away from here. This is an L shaped hallway so you and Noel should be able to keep this area safe."

"Sounds good to me." Snow replied slamming his fists together. Noel nodded, and turned back to Hope only to be bopped in the head by Moggle.

"What about me?" The little fey creature asked.

"You can scout." Serah replied as she caught the flying creature. "After all, no one will realize you're on our side. We will need someone to see if they are straying to close to us."

"But not too far." Noel interrupted and the Moggle nodded.

With the thankfully swift agreement. Arcane and Snow took off to inflict damage and Moggle floated out into the hallway to keep a sort of watch. Serah went to the door and sat down pointedly facing away from the two in what little privacy she could give them.

Noel sat down beside the mage and smiled thinly as the other slumped against him tiredly. Hope closed his eyes for a moment seeking strength from the other. Noel wrapped his arms around the other and kissed the top of his head and laid his head on silver hair.

Hope took in deep breaths as he searched within his mind for the image of his mother. It was kind of like a touch stone for him. Something that gave him that extra bit to keep moving on. With the image of Nora firmly in his mind he opened his eyes to gaze up at his lover. That was a nice term to use he thought idly before he sat up fully and turned his eyes and focus towards the terminal.

Noel sat back idly and watched as Hope did whatever he did to 'talk' to machines. It wasn't a concept that he fully understood although Serah had a talent that was vaguely similar with her ability to talk to monsters. No one in his village had had such abilities. Or if they did, they hadn't had enough time to really manifest those abilities. And thankfully, when Serah did it, it wasn't as eerily quiet as it was when Hope did it.

Although he guessed that it had to do with the fact that machines didn't really make the same type of noises animals made. As he waited he looked up at Serah who was now looking back at him. Her head cocked to the side as she looked at Hope.

"It's okay." Noel said. "He's done this in much more stressful situations."

"On the 13th Ark?" She asked quietly.

"Yeah." The dark haired man replied.

"Noel... will you be okay?" Serah asked quietly she gestured him to closer to him, not wanting to disturb the scientist.

"What do you mean?" He asked as he came to stand beside her.

"Are you okay with leaving him?" She asked quietly. "I mean... I know we'll all meet in 500AF... But we could be stuck in different times for a while."

"I prepared for it." Noel lied with a small frown. "After all, losing people... you get use to it."

She knew he was lying. He could tell by the way she cut her eyes at him. He swallowed hard and prayed to Etro for her to not ask anymore questions. At this point, not only did he not have any more answers but he wasn't sure he could keep it together if she pressured him on this. He closed his eyes and and sighed deeply.

"After all." He stated with a sense of finality. "There is still a chance that I will be separated from everyone I know here in the end anyway."

*****************************************

"So... Lightning just randomly contacted you?" Snow asked conversationally as he and Arcane headed to their positions.

"Well... yes." She replied with a shrug. "I... You could say that I am an ancestor of Noel's people." She shrugged idly. "And in my tribe they chose those to be blessed by Etro. When I was 'blessed' I had my first meeting with Lightning... The Goddess' champion."

"Ah... I never thought of it that way." Snow scratched the back of his head. "I know Noel is devoted to a religion... but I guess the rest of us kind of lost it when our own 'gods' were destroyed."

"That's a pretty strong logical stance coming from someone like you." Purple eyes watched him briefly as they stopped for a moment.

"Hey! What kind of lies has Hope been feeding you?"

"INTRUDER ALERT!" A voice yelled from around the corner.

Snow cracked his knuckles. "Time for some action."

Arcane shook her head as the roguish blond charged around the corner in to the hail of gunfire and started fighting. She watch him idly for a moment, fighting with a kind of brute strength she had never seen before and a protect spell. The power of a l'cie. She tried to imagine how powerful Hope's magic would be if he was still one and then shook that thought from her head and charged forward into the fray.

"Welcome to the party." Snow taunted as he crashed his fists into the face of his current opponent and sent them flying backwards into someone else. 

Arcane shook her head. "How do they put up with you?" She asked as she launched into her own attacks. It didn't take much to take them out. Which worried her. Were was the main battle force if all this shit was so easy? How had they managed to take the floor with such weak fighters? She paused against a wall and motioned him to stop. "These guys are far too weak to have taken the floor."

"So canon fodder. What else could they possibly want?"

"Well the Director is a distinct possibility." She replied as she crossed her arms and frowned. "But even that doesn't seem worth it."

"Noel and Serah could take anyone that goes their way so I'm not worried." Snow shrugged lightly. "But this is busy work... maybe to distract anyone that tries to stop them?"

She shrugged lightly and groaned in an annoyance. "Hope told me you are a l'cie. Got anything to clear this out?"

"Coming right up." Snow stated and called Shiva. Diamond Dust was enough to clear out the hallway and then some, the walls and floors iced over. "Be careful... it'll be slippery."

They marched down the hallway, past the past out or frozen grunts. The main room wasn't too far off. Snow sighed as he felt a familiar tingle of annoyance shift through him. He took off his coat and tossed it at the open door. The gun fire was immediate. Arcane laughed softly.

"Looks like this is definitely the place."

"I got some more protects. Shall we?" Snow was already pulling out the costly veils and activated one of them. "On three... THREE!"

They burst into the room fists flying and sword swinging. This was way harder then the grunts Arcane noted and this must have been the main fighting force. It made sense she thought in hindsight to not defend the rest of the floor since most of it was useless. The hooded figure standing in the back though gave her pause and made her nervous. But only for a moment as the waves of fighters kept coming.

***********************

"Got it." Hope spoke and Serah jerked as the mage carefully set his hands on the tablet and began rapidly typing. "Hang on."

The building suddenly took a dive as Hope turned off and redirected all electrical lines, turning off the enemies access to the mainframe permanently. Noel grunted and pushed the chair that had crashed into him off and looked at Serah who thankfully had clung to something nailed into place and was able to avoid being battered. Hope was sitting on the couch, one arm clutching the armrest but it slowly relaxed as the building righted itself.

"We are now ground zero. Only I can control the floor." He immediately set on the tablet again. "Unfortunately my control is limited... I'll have to rely on the computers sensor to find a suitable place to land. If you can keep watch until then. I should be able to land us and send a message to the army of our location. Unfortunately we'll have to on the Archylte Steppe."

"Why does that seem worse then it sounds?" Noel asked quietly.

"Large monsters who will probably attack the building and probably more of a crash then a landing since this room is on the interior. Without site the buildings sensors could be faulty from the destruction already incurred. I've already sent a message before I shut down the system that we will be landing on the Steppe. And I'll turn the systems back on when we get there and fry the propulsion system. We'll be sitting ducks."

"I don't like this." Noel stated firmly and Hope shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing else can be done."

The hunter grumbled but nodded his understanding. There was a quiet wait, occasionally broken by the sounds of fighting outside. Hope idly wondered about the hostages but he knew that if he stretched his mind enough to worry about that, he would begin to feel guilty and anxious. Lose his focus. There was honestly nothing else he could at this point.

***********************

Arcane gasped as she balanced herself on her feet. Her leg had been hit by a light bullet and it hurt like a bitch. The hooded figure was watching them from behind what was left of their guard as Snow glared fiercely. If the hulking man was injured she couldn't tell, the grim and gore on both of them was rather ridiculous as this point.

"Where are the hostages." Arcane growled as she leveled her sword prepared to fight again.

"They are in the other room. Those left alive." The person replied and both gasped. It was a very recognizable voice. The hood was lowered and there was Alyssa. A different Alyssa from the one that was working with Hope. Her hair was slightly longer and her eyes darkened with grief and jaded. "I can be persuaded to free them if you hand the Director over to me."

"And what good will that do? What do you even want?" Snow growled and Alyssa rolled her eyes. 

"You were the guy who stopped me before. Before I was pulled outside time." She glared at him and then turned to Arcane. "I'm pretty sure you know what I want. After all, you've seen the secret files."

"Then you know that what you originally did caused both you and Hope to die! Making a Fal'cie isn't worth it."

"Whoever said I wanted to make a Fal'cie?" She asked quietly as she cocked her head to the side. "A Fal'cie won't save me. We all know that. It won't save the rest of these people either. Each person here is a paradox... who was saved. From the Purge. Our goal is to succeed in maintaining our Paradox."

"Paradoxes take energy..." Arcane murmured as she realized the true aim of this group. "You plan to damn the whole planet in 100 years just so you can live for a few extra decades. Are you really fucking serious?!"

Alyssa laughed. "I can neither confirm nor deny these facts. But I do need Hope. How else will I get access to the Ark Vestiges or at the very least Academia's energy cells."

Before Arcane could reply Snow was charging forward. The guards attacked immediately, nearly waylaying the large man. Arcane's purple eyes narrowed and she charged forward as well. This explained why Hope was the key. They were working off of Alyssa's memories and that was only a partial idea of what the current future looked like.

She dove under a sword and cut the legs of her next opponent. She glared at her goal as she fought her way through what we left of the guards but Alyssa was disappearing, probably using her newfound abilities to pass through time to go to the control room. She shoved the last guard out of the way and turned to Snow.

"This is all a distraction. We need to get back to Hope."

"Whoa. But what about the hostages." Snow held up his hands. "We can't go back to the kid without them."

She stopped and bit her lip in frustration. She knew what Snow meant but this Alyssa. She should have been gone, dead something. Arcane didn't know which and didn't care. The battered guards who had stayed behind showed no signs of moving anytime soon.

"Fine. Let's check on the hostages and head back. Now words on where we are going. Got it?" She ordered as she turned towards entering the control room. Snow grumbled in annoyed agreement and continued walking towards the doors.

Inside the control room was a massacre. Most of the hostages were injured or dead. Arcane bit her lip roughly and Snow cursed. Some people back away from them fearfully before realizing that Arcane was there.

"Captain Arcane? Captain Lydia Arcane?" A scientist asked, Nomura if she remembered correctly.

"Yes that would be me. How many survivors are there?" She asked quietly.

"Eighteen." Nomura replied as he stood up and gestured to the others. "Is there somewhere place we can go?"

"Well... Safe enough for now." She replied quietly. "Follow me and keep quiet. Snow take the rear."

*************************

When Mog came flying down the hall Serah had expected him to be sounding the alarm but instead he told her that Arcane and Snow were coming with the hostages. She sighed in relief and sent him on to report to Hope and Noel as she waited for them to turn the corner. The eighteen people that they brought back looked terrible. Bloody and injured, some worse then others. She gestured to the better looking of them to help her set up a mobile hospital to began healing who she could.

"Don't waste too much of your strength." Arcane warned. "Only heal what needs serious attention."

"But-"

"It's better to be cautious." The older woman replied as she looked at the bedraggled people. Snow had had Hope moved into the small computer room attached to lounge that was attached to the back. At first the scientist didn't want to be removed from his people but Arcane had swiftly pointed out that they had no way of knowing if there was a traitor hiding in the group.

No one wanted to think that, but today was a trying day of disastrous proportions. After everyone was situated, she changed places with Snow and sat down backwards in a computer chair and regarded the scientist and his partner sitting quietly in the room.

"What's our ETA?" She asked quietly.

"Probably 40 minutes. We'll have to prep for a crash." Hope replied quietly and he sighed. "Snow told me that you only recovered eighteen of the hostages."

"We moved too late." She admitted quietly but Hope shook his head. "We let our guard down. We all did. We assumed all along that they wouldn't attack headquarters. But if the leader if Alyssa like Snow told me, then she knew nearly all the secrets of the building and was easily able to orchestrate this under our noses."

"Excuse me while I proceed to lose my shit then." Arcane groaned in reply before she continued quietly. "...is what she wants even possible?"

"What does she want? Snow didn't tell me. Complex plans tend to fly over his head." Hope stated quietly with a hint of nostalgic smile.

"Enough energy to sustain a long term paradox. Apparently most of the members of the main force of the group are from a paradox that allowed a group of people from the Purge to live. Other then just Alyssa." She paused when she saw Hope's eyes widen and his face go pale. "Apparently, it requires a lot of the same things as Fal'cie reproduction so..."

"While logical our guess was wrong." But Hope still appeared horribly shaken and that worried Arcane. She opened her mouth to say more but he cut her off. "Could you leave for a moment. I... I need some time." She nodded idly and stood up.

"Noel will stay right? I don't like the idea of leaving you alone." Hope turned to look at Noel as if he hadn't realized the hunter was still in the room. He nodded weakly and Arcane took her leave.

Once Arcane was outside the room, Hope slumped down and closed his eyes. Something that sounded vaguely similar to a sob escaped his lips and Noel was immediately by his side pulling him to see a flood of tears pour down the man's face.

"Hope?"

"I'm scared." Hope replied weakly as he clung to Noel. "I..."

Noel was about to ask what could have possibly scared the other after everything that he had been through both back before the Fall and now but then he remembered what Hope had told him. His mother had died in The Purge. What if his mother was a member of this group. He shook his head as he thought of Hope's mother.

"Your mother wouldn't do something like this." He insisted before he kissed the silver haired man's forehead. "You said so yourself, she was a wonderful caring woman. There is no way she'd damn the future to live a few years without you and your father."

"But you can't know that." Hope whispered sadly. "Alyssa... what I remember of her. She wouldn't do something like this."

"You think they were corrupted by the chaos?" Noel asked quietly as he continued his attempts to sooth the other. "Chaos is what makes the soul. She would have to give up her convictions to become like Alyssa might be."

Hope nodded but Noel could tell that the other didn't believe him. They sat in silence for a few moments and then Hope sighed softly and sat up. "I shouldn't let myself fall apart. Not now. We have so much to do."

"Hope-" A quick kiss quieted him. 

"We need to be safe first. After all, paradoxes are localized... It doesn't make sense that those who were outside Alyssa's group would be apart of it. And if it had been where my mother... died... We would honestly have an army on our hands."

"How... how many died in The Purge?" Noel asked softly, he'd never asked too many questions but it wasn't something he could avoid now that it was that current concern.

"A lot." Hope stated sadly. "Somewhere in the hundreds of thousands. The whole city of Bodhum was evacuated along with Anima. At the Hanging Edge... Just above Bresha Lake nearly everyone was killed. Most of the remains are beyond the ruins..."

Noel immediately felt guilty for bring up such things. He pulled Hope back against him and ruffled his hair lightly as he looked around the bare, windowless room. While he knew that everyone was suffering, fighting for this to end. He couldn't help but wonder if Hope would ever stop hurting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also! If things with Alyssa are a bit confusing, please remember she is a paradox that was pulled outside time by Caius.


	14. Interlude 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late, late update. Real life unfortunately happened. So for that I'll bring extra updates. I still have some editing to do, so the next chapter will be up on Wednesday and if I can keep it going another on Friday. Unfortunately working 4 jobs makes things a little hard.

Serah hated the sound of the ominous rattling the building made as it slowly shuffled through the sky like a dying bird. She had to admit, she didn't know anything of the building's mechanics but this just sounded so deadly. The former hostages were all sitting quietly around the lounge, huddled on couches together for assurance and warmth. They weren't really safe after all. And among the large group that they all made they only had five fighters.

It was probably earth shattering to a lot of them. The Academy HQ was supposed to be safe. Probably one of the safest places in all of Pulse. And now that they were headed to the Archylte Steppe, probably one of the most dangerous places. It had been nearly an hour and they should be setting down soon. But who knew when the army would get there and what the terrorists were planning. After all, they could somewhat access chaos magic although she doubted that that could help them that much.

"Are you all right?" Snow asked as he slid down the wall beside her. She nodded blankly and reached a hand out to feather through bright blond strands. "You seem ta be thinkin' rather hard."

"I am... I mean-" She took a deep breath and started again. "There has to be some way to stop Alyssa."

"There is." Snow replied frankly. "We have to destroy her paradox. When we get out of this mess. Hope will go straight into the gravity well and we will go through the gate. Stop her paradox, and meet up with the kid in 500AF to complete the Shatter Point and stop Caius." The large man stated with certainty. 

"And after that?" She asked quietly. "The price that we pay?"

"Well... I don't know anything about that." He took her hand and kissed it, staring at her still seemingly delicate hand even though he knew first hand the kind of destruction she could deal out. "But we'll be together. With Sis and the rest. That's gotta count for something right?"

She shook her head miserably. Count for something huh? She was tired of the death and destruction. She wanted to live the life that she had chosen back before the Purge. She wanted to marry this man and start the family he'd never had. She wanted to be meanie Miss Farron and watch her sister open up to people again like she had after her journey.

"You're off in your own head again." Snow commented and she laughed softly.

"Not much else to do. ETA is in like half an hour according to Arcane."

He nodded numbly and leaned against her. "We'll start that family one day. And have that wedding you dreamed of. Light will give you away. I'll bully Hope into being the best man and that Moggle of yours can be the ring bearer."

She laughed softly at the image that put into her head and started stroking his hair again. "It's a nice dream isn't it? You were always good a making my dreams come true in your own way."

"ETA is in fifteen minutes!" Arcane suddenly shouted, standing up and looking all business. "We are going to crash so I need everyone to brace themselves. Make sure you're intended protection is nailed down."

As everyone around them rushed to follow orders, Serah just watched. It wasn't until Snow pulled on her arm that she got moving. Her mind stretched into many places at once. And yet as speed was picked up by the building and she was gripping onto Snow and the table they were using for protection, she couldn't help but notice that Hope and Noel were still inside the side room.

She could only hope that they would be okay too.

**********************

The peacefulness of the Archylte Steppe was broken as a large square structure slammed into the ground head first. It sent dirt and water flying as it crumbled partially into the ground creating a small canyon as it slid through the ground. When it came to a stop, the silence was deafening. All animal life had fled as fast as it could.

Inside, Hope was clinging to Noel, the hunter cursing as his arm ached painfully. They support they were using had ripped up from the floor and slammed into his arm so hard he was sure the bone had snapped. On the other hand, Hope who hadn't fully recovered from his injuries didn't look to much worse for wear. They could hear groaning from the lounge and otherwise hoped that everything was okay.

"Let me see your arm." Hope spoke when he was able to calm down enough to peel himself away from the comfort of Noel's body. The hunter hissed as his arm was examined but then magic rolled over him, cool and gently. He moaned softly as the bone knitted itself back together. But without real rest the risk of it breaking again was rather high. "That should last until we get out of here."

"How's your head?" The brunette asked quietly and Hope smiled weakly.

"It hurts again but I don't feel disoriented. If everyone else is fine I'll have Serah cast another healing spell on me."

Noel shook his head. "If it's not so bad let me try." Hope nodded in agreement and relaxed as Noel's surprisingly warm magic passed over him, clearing out the pain and nausea that had been lurking around the edges of his consciousness. Afterwards the two stood up and open the door to the oncoming chaos.

In the lounge there were few extra injuries thankfully but there was a worrisome noise that was echoing through the building that caused a question about stability. It was too far away for the Moggle to go investigate by himself and there was still the worrisome matter of the terrorists.

"Going out onto the Archylte Steppe is suicide with so few combatants." Nomura murmured as he looked over the group from where he stood with Arcane.

"We won't have much of a choice is the building is too unstable. I'm going to send out a team. This place is defensible for as long as the building isn't going to fall apart."

"Then I should be on that team." Snow replied smacking his fists together.

"Impatient." Arcane rolled her eyes fondly and turned to the open door that let out Noel and Hope. "I want you to take Noel with you. Right now, Serah and Hope's healing abilities will be invaluable."

" You think the kid's well enough to do healing right now?" Snow asked with a skeptical look. "Wait... I mean I know he is. I just don't want to stress him out too much. The head injury will come back."

"Not much of a choice otherwise." Arcane replied. "This isn't a military outfit. This is a bunch of book worms in a dangerous situation."

"Still. I'll see about finding some weapons. You may not believe it but with their lives on the line, I'm sure some of them could become serviceable fighters." But even as he said those supposedly encouraging words his face darkened in memories of a woman taking up a gun to protect her boy. And how he had almost failed her a number of times after her untimely death.

"Well there's a face I've never seen from you."

"Hey Kriess! You're with me." Snow ignored her and motioned the guardian over. "Let's check out the building."

Arcane sighed softly as she watched them leave. She was about to say something more when Hope was at her side with a sad look on his face as he tugged her towards on of the still nailed down tables as Serah and Nomura began examining the others for injuries.

"Snow is just probably remembering things from the past."

"Oh?" She asked, surprise that Hope could figure out what was on her mind. He shrugged idly.

"All of us... who were apart of the Purge have a lot of painful memories." He replied and she knew that he wasn't going to say anymore. The Purge was a topic not up for discussion with the Mage, not even on the academic side of talking about history. It had galled many of the professors at the Academy, but Arcane knew the pain was still too close.

The silence stretched on between the two of them with the noise of the background seeming to not penetrate their bubble. Finally Arcane turned away from him and looked over at where Serah was hard at work. "I guess we all need to be doing our part."

************************

Noel walked beside Snow with a nervous twitch. He wanted to go back and be with Hope, it sounded clingy, even in his own mind. But they were in a dangerous place and if some of the bigger monsters came to investigate they would have a serious problem on their hands. He begrudgingly had to give Snow credit though, he was being more then enough of an ally right now. Practically a leader and while Noel was no follower it was hard to see beyond the current problems for his mental state right now.

And the dizzy spelled that followed didn't surprise him at all.

"You all right kid?" Snow asked as he turned to watch Noel kind of list to the side and then lean against the wall. He watched the younger man slide down the wall and stare at the ground. Snow could never have been prepared for Noel to lose his shit. The hunter didn't move as he started hyperventilating. Snow was about to snap at him when he remembered about Lightning's warning about the kid. "Of all the fucking times." He groaned as he grabbed the younger man's arm and hauled him up.

Noel moaned painfully as his memories cycled through his head in surprisingly painful motions. Snow shoved him into a room and his feet refused to work and the hunter ended up in a heap. Snow crossed his arms impatiently and looked outside. In a hostile environment and now that shit has to flashed through him.

When the episode was over and if that was the first in a line of many, Noel wasn't sure of how much he could take. He didn't know what was gone with in his mind. Nothing seemed different yet and he didn't know what to make of it. Snow pulled him up to his feet.

"You all right kid?" The blond asked as he gestured back towards the door. "We do have work to do."

"Hey, you called me." Noel snarked back and pushed his way past the other, only to rear back out of pulse gun fire. "And that would be the welcome wagon."

"It doesn't sound like enough guns to be a problem other then as a surprise." Snow replied slamming his fists together. "We need to get to the hub and check things out and then get back to the lounge. On three?"

Noel grumbled but he knew that he couldn't deter the larger man. He unsheathed his swords and prepared himself. 

"THREE!" Snow shouted as he went storming out into the fray. Noel followed him quickly, his broader sword out as a shield.

It was only six assailants and the two of them made quick work of those grunts. Once finished Snow pointed down the next hallway. Because this had been the base floor of the research center, most of the rooms were large and the hallways long to accommodate them. It was turning into a headache. When they reached the large double doors that led into the research hub Noel grabbed Snow's shoulder roughly.

"Fuck this hurts."

"Did you get hurt?" Snow asked with concern but he shook his head and slumped a bit.

"It's my mind. Do you have a painkiller?" He rasped. "I just need something to stop the pain."

Snow nodded blankly and searched his pockets, the other swallowed the pain killer quickly. When Noel came back to himself. Snow felt guilty, he wanted to take Noel back to the others but it was too late now. Everyone had to pull their own weight right now. Noel shook his head slowly and then stood up firmly.

"I doubt we'll find any weapons but at the very least maybe we can waylay Alyssa?"

Snow shrugged and pushed the doors open. There was no gun fire. Which was surprisingly. But Alyssa was here. She was standing at the mainframe frantically typing. It seemed like she was hitting dead ends. At the slamming of the doors she spun around.

"How did you get here?!" She shouted furiously.

"Well... It's not like you had very good henchmen." Snow shrugged lightly.

"Or maybe your paradox is breaking down?" Noel added and she glared at him firmly.

"No way." She hissed and she turned back around. "Dammnit... I need the access codes."

"Alyssa." Snow's voice was soft, almost introspective as he cautiously entered the room. "You do realize that this isn't going to help you. You've been dead for over 400 years now."

"I CAN CHANGE THINGS." She roared turning to face him. "It's not like Hope's a good person either. He wants to go back and save his mom!"

Snow breathed in sharply at that which caused Noel to raise an eyebrow. There was a long quiet moment as Alyssa held Snow's stare in challenge. After a few moments Alyssa deflated.

"Whatever Hope wants to do... He knows better then to hurt other people for something that won't work. Regardless of whatever his dream is." Snow stated. "He has sacrificed so much and the fact that you would through a private wish out as if it would justify your selfish, dangerous actions."

Alyssa sobbed lightly and then closed her eyes to take a deep breath. "Even if you stop me now, I am a paradox. I have plenty of time to work to stop you."

Snow shrugged lightly and lifted his fists. "Its your choice you can leave now and try to find another way. Or you can stay here and fight against people you care about."

Alyssa turned with a wild eyed glare and charged at them magic flying out of his hand. Instead, of the hit landing as both Noel and Snow braced for the magical attack. Instead, the magic fluttered and disappeared. As they straightened up, they watched as Alyssa stared to slowly fade.

"You... you were buying time!" She growled and Snow shrugged lightly.

"Whatever you think, Hope cared for you... and I didn't want to hurt a friend."

***********************

Snow and Noel returned without extra weapons but neither of them seemed particularly worried. Snow explained in a very quick explanation that Alyssa's paradox had either been solved or had been stalled. Either way, she wasn't a problem anymore.... or atleast for now. But remnants of the terrorist cell still existed and that was still a big problem for the Academy going forward.

Hope figured him leaving would help. Alyssa's paradox was following him. The Academy could focus on more important things if he wasn't around. Furthermore he was sure that if they all started their travels again, even if her paradox wasn't solved yet it would be. He snapped back to the present at the feel of Noel tapping against his forehead.

"Hey now... We are still in danger." The guardian murmured before he dropped down next to the tired mage. "Arcane says the army has an ETA of about an hour."

"Sounds about right." Hope replied as he leaned into the taller man who wrapped his arms around him. Serah came and sat across from them with a thin smile. As they sat and waited Snow soon came over and slumped down as well. The silence stretched on, brittle and worrisome. Finally Hope spoke without prompt. "As soon as we get back... you three need to leave."

"Wait what?" Snow asked as he sat up, gently disturbing Serah where she leaned against him. "I don't know if you knocked your head harder then we thought but you are in danger Hope. We can't just leave you."

You left before, Hope thought bitterly but stated much more positively. "We can't keep stalling here forever. Noel and Serah and you need to move on."

"Not until you go into the gravity well with Arcane." Noel stated as he squeezed the other's hand. 

"That is just a frivolous time waster. You all need to get on track and I will meet you in 500AF like we planned before."

"Not until you go in the capsule." Noel repeated firmly and Serah nodded.

"I think we have a few more days before it's time to go." The pink haired girl murmured as she leaned back and stared up. "Lightning said that we had to stay put until the new moon."

"The new moon is when the next gate will open." Moggle replied as he floated above Serah's head. "A gate to take us to the next step."

Snow had a troubled look on his face. Lightning had warned him about only one assassination attempt and in reality there had been two, three maybe? Every time he looked at Hope he couldn't help but see a fourteen year old boy and the promise that he had made Nora. He knew that if he dwelled on it too much he would feel a lot of guilt involving him. He sighed deeply and dragged a hand over his face.

"I'm inclined to agree with them. We'll leave after you go into the capsule. After all, you were mostly just making the preparations at this point right? Just enjoy your time with Noel and get ready. Us leaving earlier then we should isn't going to help anyone." Snow pointed out and Hope groaned softly. If Snow was attempting to be logical, he knew he wasn't going to win.

"All right... But then what do we-"

The loud crash against a wall wasn't unexpected. It was on the other side of the building. Probably a large monster. Snow groaned miserably and Serah gasped loudly. Hope looked to Arcane and she nodded faintly.

"We will barricade this room. The army should be close at hand, so we won't worry about the wildlife." Arcane replied quietly.

A daunting silence settled over everyone as they waited for the army to come. It was nerve wracking to know that soon animals would probably be attacking the building. With only a few able fighters it was a terribly daunting task. Especially since here were obviously terrorists still somewhere within the building even though Arcane had dismissed them as a threat.


	15. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp! Here is the promised Wednesday chapter...

Hope sat quietly by himself in the hospital bed. After last week's rather unremarkable rescue, they had confined him to the hospital for observation of his head and also for internal injuries that he had no idea how he had gotten. Probably when the building was rolling. He didn't have a lot of visitors during his time, although he figured that had more to do with Noel then about people wanting to visit him or not.

The hunter had become fiercely protective when the doctor had described Hope's injuries, his body significantly weakened because of the use of cure spells over actual medical technology. It made the mage miss being a l'cie all the more. Back then, a cure spell fixed everything and his powers replenished his body's energy. In the end it didn't matter though, he wasn't a l'cie and the magic that he had the ability to use had to come from somewhere.

And not to mention the troubling news of Alyssa. He bit his lip roughly when he thought about her. He hadn't done right by her, he'd know. He'd all but forgotten about her, a by product of her paradox being fixed and then reconfigured by whatever Caius had done. At least he hoped it was Caius. He didn't need another curve ball. The door slid open and his head jerked up before his eyes rolled. While company was welcomed he wasn't sure that he was in the right state of mind to deal with Snow. Not that he had a choice. Right now he was definitely a captive audience.

"How are you doing kid?" The blond asked as he dropped into a seat.

"Fine and dandy with the major head wound. What did you do today?" Hope asked drolly, he could snark with the best of them, but often he worried that most of that passed over Snow's head. His father had once described him as politely tenacious but he had a feeling that his mother's old description was far more appropriate. A hard headed smartass.

"You know... I don't remember you having all this attitude back then." Snow's smile was a little then.

"I do believe that we had more pressing matters then a fourteen year old boy's developing personality." Hope let a small smile grace his features. "But I think we are remembering different adventures since I'm sure I personally tried to kill you at least twice."

"I only remember once." Snow replied as he turned to look out the window. There was a long moment of silence between the two. Even though now centuries in the past their adventure wasn't all that long ago for either of them. The sight of the crystal pillar off in the distance didn't help either.

"Snow..." Hope twisted his hands in his grip. As much as he griped about Snow, it was still hard to truly call the other out on things. Especially things that he knew was something that bothered the other. "What did Lightning tell you. I know she told you... About the cost."

"Heh... I thought you had accepted what I said as truth... Should have known you were too smart egghead."

"Serah probably doesn't believe it either." The silver haired man pointed out.

"Well of course she doesn't... But she accepts that I want to protect her. I don't know about Noel... I think he hates me."He scratched at his nose, buying time. Hope could allow that for a while.

"He hates the parts of his personality that he sees in you." Hope responded. "You're bothersome, overbearingly protective and naive... strong willed and good hearted."

"Never thought I'd get a compliment from you kid. Especially involving your boyfriend." Snow laughed as Hope winced at his words and the scientist glared at him. He was about to shoot into a rant but that would be playing too much into Snow's hands. Realizing that the older (younger) man wasn't going to take his bait Snow sighed and looked at him. "The thing is... We can't really stop Caius."

"But you said we could win!" Hope glared him down and Snow looked away, the look on his face mostly ashamed.

"Etro weakened herself by waking us up. Anytime that he choses Caius could kill her... but it would backfire and turn Noel's Yeul into the next Etro... or even Lightning..." Snow stopped but Hope was more then patient. "Lightning believes that Noel doesn't have what it takes to accept the heart."

"He won't have to!" Hope clenched his hands. "I'm going to find a way to store the heart. It's been in human hands for far too long."

"Hope... do you really think things could be that easy?" Snow swallowed hard. "Lightning and Yeul weren't the only ones chosen by the goddess Etro. Everything that we are doing is playing into her hands."

"You're not making any sense!" Hope slammed his hands on the bed.

"We... All of us. Are the chosen of Etro. We'll be her slaves for eternity." Snow crossed his arms. "That's our price. Even when all this is over... win or lose. We will have to continue to fight."

"That can't be right. What about the other gods. Pulse and Lindzei. If we achieve Caius' aim they should come back."

"Caius has already dispatched of them. There is only Etro and Bhunivelze. And if what Lightning has told me is true... Wakening Bhunivelze will signal the end of the world."

Hope deflated into the hospital bed feeling weak. Not quite sure of what any of this fully meant. It was all so much to take in. And a lot that Snow was obviously dealing with. While he now understood the other's wish to hid it from them. It was all too much. He swallowed hard. "Do you think Caius intends to wake Bhunivelze?"

"I don't think he's thought that far ahead." Snow stated. "Admittedly, the whole thing with Alyssa just seems like something he started to cause a snag in our goals. After all, if you die... One of the chosen is gone... One of the most important ones too."

Hope swallowed hard and closed his eyes. His mind was racing. He had already started the construction of the mini-ark from his hospital bed and had passed it into the hands of those who would finish it before the others left. His mind raced through alternative plans, objectives and endings but he could find nothing. His mind was stuck on one painful crux.

"At some point we'll have to fight him won't we? Bhunivelze..." His mind was filled with dismay and something that was near to terror but not quite.

"Lightning didn't comment on that. She believed that we could continue buying Etro time." Snow admitted.

"I'm scared." Hope stated quietly. He remembered the impressions that he use to have as a l'cie. Things that told them when enemies were near and what steps to take next. While the impressions weren't quite as strong anymore they still happened. And what Snow had told him, had given him enough to know to be petrified.

"Hey kid...It'll turn out right. We did it once and we can do it again. Even if we have to take it to Bhunivelze himself."

"Y-you're right." Hope replied though his smile was thin and weak. "You're also right... Noel and Serah don't need to know. They might doubt when it's time to take the heart."

Snow looked at him wide-eyed. He had expected Hope to want the others to be in full knowledge of what they were doing. But the more he looked at Hope, the more he wished he hadn't told him either. He raked a hand though his hair. "You look like dead warmed over kid."

"I'd like to be alone I think." Hope replied off canter. "I need some time to think."

Snow sighed, he knew he'd get no more out of the other and he stood slowly and clapped his hand on Hope's uninjured shoulder. Once Hope is sure that the other is gone, he finally allows himself to cry.

***************************

Relieved to be out of this hospital, Hope arrived in the research block before he even thought to head off and see the others. He found Aina making the finishing touches on the 14th ark as he liked to call it and smiled grimly at the sight of it. She looked up at him, her sea green hair falling off a shoulder and sighed softly.

"I want you to know that you owe me big time Director." She chastised him as she turned back to the seemingly disarming black box. "You hand me a data disk filled with gibberish about Fal'cie tech and instructions to frankly steal from the Academy and ask no questions."

"I know but..."

"The documents stated it clearly enough." She cut him off and lifting the box with two hands and handed it to him. "And I think you are absolutely insane. But... if this makes things easier on those two... I can't blame you for trying."

Hope swallowed thickly. Of course, for Noel and Serah this was hard, but what Snow had told him still weighed heavily on his conscious. He didn't like lying or withholding information from people. Especially those he cared about. Even now as he prayed his plan would save Etro he couldn't help but be afraid of what would happen next. He wrapped his hands around the medium sized box as best he could.

"Just... Thank you for all your help." He mumble nervously. More like the shy fourteen year old he had been then the self composed man he was now. "Thank you so much."

Aina must have saw something in his face as she laid her hands over his and nodded once. She turned back to her work and sighed softly. "I was told that you are going back into the gravity well in a few days. I'm taking over your duties in official capacity once you've been brought up to speed and signed off on everything."

"Aina..."

"Also General Yurg wants to talk to you as well as Councilor Ulman. They've been put into your meeting schedule."

"Damnit Aina. You can't really be putting up this wall right now!" He growled as he stepped forward. The older woman spun around with tears in her eyes.

"I sure as hell can. You sent me everything remember? I damn well can be upset that one of my dearest friends has basically set himself up to die!" She swallowed hard before continuing. "Maybe when you woke up those short few years ago I only saw the myth and the legend. But if I had known that knowing the man would be so painful I would have never..." She trailed off in a watery chuckle. "Who am I kidding?"

"I'm sorry." Hope swallowed hard, even after all this time he didn't do well with emotions. Especially volatile ones and he wanted nothing more then to apologize again. Somehow make things right. Aina was clenching her hands on the table and anyone could have walked in on this odd scene.

"Just... remember us left back here okay?" She asked quietly. "Be strong enough to survive."

************************

Snow, never been one for self incriminations suddenly had temporary lapse as he sat with Serah in the Academia gardens. They had come here to relax but as he took in his beautiful fiancé and the permanent sorrow that lingered in her eyes. He felt as if everything was his fault. Why had he encouraged her beliefs? Why had he embarked on a journey to save Lightning at her insistence. He knew that such a path wouldn't have made her happy either. But she wouldn't be risking death.

"You looking thoughtful is kind of a scary thing." Serah murmured as she brushed dirt off her hands. She had been shifting through the fresh dirt beneath a rose bed when his mind had wandered off.

"Hey... Can't I think about the future once and a while?" He asked teasingly but her sigh was not the reaction that he was expecting.

"Is there any time when we aren't?" She asked in a way that completely broke his good mood. "All I can think about is the future. And how we could mess things up. The price we have to pay."

Serah swallowed hard. It wasn't often that one saw Snow stuck in self doubt. Oh, he wasn't as over confident as he seemed but he went through great pains to not let it show. To see him so out of sorts felt rather painful to be honest.

"I guess I just feel guilty..." He admitted quietly. "About Hope."

"Oh?" She asked as she threaded her arm through his. She thought about how sad Hope had looked back in 5AF. She closed her eyes and leaned against him.

"Well..." He paused in an almost uncommon thing and before continuing. "I had thought that by leaving Hope behind that I wouldn't have to worry about it. That he could you know... be a kid... Get along with his dad. Normal stuff."

"Did you really think that would happen?" She pulled back and stared at him with wide eyes. "That everyone who ever loved him, who he loved could just leave and he would be okay?!"

Snow winced as she ripped her arm from his. He'd done it now and she was about to lay into him. She stood up her hands clenched in frustration. He put his hands up in a placating manner and she shoved them away.

"IS THAT HOW YOU AND LIGHTNING THOUGHT ABOUT ME? THAT... That you could just leave me behind and I'd 'be okay?'" Her voice wilted as her anger did and she glared at him angrily.

"We wanted to protect you. I wanted to protect Hope." His voice was soft and chastised. "Maybe we were wrong in our way of doing it but... could you blame us? You'd been a crystal and Hope was so young..."

"Excuses." She hissed shaking her head from side to side. "Don't give me those fucking excuses as if they make it all better. Hope has been cleaning up all our messes... Searching for us. Trying to save Fang and Vanille-"

"AND I'VE BEEN DOING NOTHING?!" Snow stood up and grabbed her shoulders. "And what do you think Lightning is doing? She's protecting the goddess. She's trying to save the world."

"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK NOEL AND I ARE DOING?" She shouted back and shoved him hard enough. She caught him off guard and he stumbled over his feet and feel back on the bench. "I really hate that about you. You never try to understand how others feel."

Snow swallowed in guilt as tears began to roll down her cheeks. She was so beautiful even angry and sad. He stood up and scooped her up into his arms. He held her tightly and pressed his head against hers.

"You know I'm no good at this stuff Serah. I rush in... I fuck up... But I try right?" He asked as he buried his face in her hair. "I love you."

*****************************

"We leave tomorrow." Noel spoke softly as he leaned against Hope on the couch staring out into the cold night. The other nodded weakly. The taller man took his partner's hand and intertwined their fingers as he thought of what would happen in the future. "We'll meet in 500AF right?"

"Of course." Hope turned and smiled at him. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Noel sobered unfortunately as he pressed a kiss to the older man's head. He pulled Hope into his arms and closed his eyes. The words that he wanted to say were trapped in his throat but he had a feeling that Hope was thinking the same thing. That they were both scared. No one could know what the future would bring but they both knew that harsh battles were coming their way.

"Hey Hope?" The other asked quietly as he pulled back and stared at their intertwined hands. "Can we reverse things? I... I don't want to leave without..."

"I understand." Hope stood up and pulled his hand, bring the other behind him. "Shall we?"

Once inside the bedroom, Noel couldn't help but fidget nervously even though he was the one that suggested that they do this. Remembering their first time, how Hope had taken control. Hope was someone who was probably use to being in control. He shook his head out as he realized that regardless of anything that they had done, Hope had been in control. He was the more experienced one and Noel knew that he could trust him. To lead, to guide or to take control, Hope would make sure things would be okay. With those thoughts the hunter visibly relaxed even as he discarded his pants.

Hope sucked in a breath as his hands froze on his own pants. Noel, having not grown up in a society where nudity could be an issue had stripped down so effortlessly, had taken off his clothes fairly quickly. Not that the older man minded. Noel was covered in richly tanned skin that covered hard muscles creating a body that resembled that of a hunter. Or the body of someone who was a hunter-gatherer. At that point Hope realized that he needed to turn off the analytical part of his mind.

He didn't want to think of maybes and what ifs. He wanted to explore the body of his wonderful partner. Hands leaving his pants, he approached Noel and carefully wrapped his arms around him. Noel smiled gently and tilted his head against Hope's mixing silver and brown.

"Hey... Aren't you supposed to be naked too?" The hunter teased as a hand tugged at Hope's pants.

"How can I focus on that when there's someone so handsome in front of me?" Hope teased watching as Noel's face colored, not use to compliments. Hope gently traced some of the stark white scares on Noel's skin before he smiled up at him. "Maybe you should help me out?"

Noel laughed and slowly undid Hope's pants and pushed them down his legs. He followed them down, making sure to keep his hands in contact with Hope's pale skin. Hope flushed more in embarrassment then anything else. He wasn't one to find such actions romantic or erotic. He pulled Noel back up against him and gestured towards the bed.

"Why don't you lay down and I'll get prepared." The older man murmured.

Noel laughed softly, he'd know that his partner wouldn't like such a gestured. Hope didn't like big romantic overtures and found attempts at being erotic more overdramatic at best and pointless at worst. And well, that was the only gestured that Noel knew how to do anyways. He laid down on his side of the bed and watched the other move around swiftly, seemingly uncomfortable with his own nudity.

Noel chuckled quietly to himself as Hope turned off the lights before approaching the bed. Leaving the setting sun as their only light was strangely romantic. But he knew that wasn't what the smaller man had in mind. Even though he was the more experienced of the two, Hope was hopelessly a prude about his own nudity and even his own sexuality.

"Oi... What's with that look?" Hope asked as he settled down on the bed and over Noel.

"Just thinking about my handsome lover." Noel teased as another blushed crossed Hope's cheeks. The other groaned a bit, Noel while not quite so comfortable with the physical aspect of a relationship. Always worried he was doing the wrong thing, he was unfortunately comfortable with teasing. A personality trait that Hope treasured nearly as much as it annoyed him. He pushed the other.

"Shut up." He growled before he dug his hands into Noel's hair and pressed a hard kiss to an open mouth. They lost themselves in kisses and touches. Hope deciding to not hold himself back at all.

Noel groaned into open air as Hope kissed his way down his body. He knew that the older man could be aggressive but hadn't realized how much that he'd been holding back. He looked forward to challenging the other back when he got better at these kinds of things. A harsh kiss against his inner thigh had his mind short circuiting. 

Hope smirked, Noel was such a tactile creature, much like himself. He pressed light kisses up and down his thighs as he worked his legs open wider and up into position. Situating his own self he looked down at Noel fondly.

"This is going to be uncomfortable. And I need you to talk to me. I don't want to hurt you." He replied as he picked up the lubricant and liberally spread it on his fingers. Noel nodded afraid to speak. Hope reached down with both hands, one going for Noel's erection and the other for more secretive areas.

The brunet took a deep steadily breath as fingers slowly moved in places he wasn't sure to. He focused on Hope's face, his bright eyes as he tried not to think too much about what was happening below. The guardian knew that if he thought about it too much, he'd tense up. When there were two fingers inside he drew in a deep breath of uncomfortableness.

"Noel?" Hope asked imploringly and the other shook his head. Nothing had happened yet that was a problem. The younger man felt guilty for thinking yet, but he was afraid to make a sound, almost afraid that Hope would think any sound was distress and stop.

Hope smiled gently, Noel was holding back too much. He tightened his grip on the other's erection and began to pump harder and faster. Making him moan and seeing the pleasure across his face. One of Noel's hands trailed down and grabbed Hope's.

"T-too much." He rasped and Hope laughed gently.

All too soon for Noel, or maybe he had lost track of what was happen, but Hope's face was suddenly close and the other was adjusting their bodies. He realized that this was the point in which Hope was going to actually be inside him. His body tensed in fear and anticipation. Hope stopped his movements and shifted his whole body so that he could cup Noel's face.

"There is nothing with not doing this." The silver haired man stated firmly and Noel shook his head.

"I want this..." He whispered and Hope's smile turned very gently. He leaned down and kissed Noel gently. One hand on his face the other shifted his position and reached a hand back down. It happened so fast that Noel almost didn't realize it. Hope was inside, not full inside, but enough for Noel to really feel it. 

He sucked in a deep breath and tilted his head back. Hope cupped his face and tilted it back to face him. The older man watched his lover as he slowly worked his way inside. He wanted to make sure that everything was okay. That Noel was ready and could take it. Once he was fully inside, Hope released the other and shift his position as he moaned weakly. Being inside Noel was amazing.

Feeling better, more confident at least, Noel reached up and curled his arms around Hope. The other moved to look at them and their mouthes met. When Noel was finally able to communicate that he was ready for more, Hope had been sure that he wasn't going to last. As Hope moved against him, Noel wasn't sure he could do much more then clutch at his lover and try to get use to the stimulation.

It didn't take longer for either to reach climax, Hope buried his head into Noel's shoulder to muffle his groan. Noel gasped in surprise as Hope came inside him. Hope reached his hand down to curl around Noel and finish him off feeling a bit guilty for moving maybe too fast. But, he didn't regret being able to watch Noel's face as he succumbed to pleasure coating his hand in white.

"I knew," Noel panted as he curled his arms around Hope after he'd pulled out and cleaned them both up a bit, "that I didn't want to leave without this. Without having experienced as much with you as I could."

"Don't say it like that." Hope's voice was surprisingly bitter and filled with anguish. "Don't say it as if after tomorrow we'll never see each other again."

"I didn't... I didn't mean it like that at all." Noel sat up quickly and pulled the other back against him, cringing at the soreness already spreading through his limbs. "Ow... I just meant that I don't know how long we'd be apart. I wanted to experience as much with you as I could before we were separated."

But by the melancholy look on the other's face the guardian knew that he'd failed at soothing the other. He tried to swallow his guilt and come up with a plan to make Hope smile, but he knew that he had nothing to make things better.

************************

Hope stood beside Arcane as Noel stepped back towards Serah. The pink haired girl offered a fragment to the gate and the gyrators came alive and started moving glowing bright and bronze. Ethereal green joined it and Hope knew that it was really goodbye. Noel raised two fingers and waved them gently as he and Serah lifted up and disappeared.

Hope didn't say it out loud but the painful throb in his chest was enough to bring him to his knees. As the gate went dormant, the true proof that he couldn't follow the one he loved was horrible. No matter how the time passed the knowledge that he wouldn't see Noel for 100 years felt like agony. A strong hand clapped him on the back and he stumbled forward at the unexpected force.

"Come on kid. It's your turn next." Snow replied as he turned to head back to HQ. Hope growled under his breath and glared at the other.

"Couldn't you have left first you overgrown oaf." He grumbled.

"Ahh... I know you love me the most Hope!" Snow teased as he danced out of the way of a quick jab from the smaller man. Hope might have been physically smaller then Snow, but he packed quite a punch and Snow was finally bruised free for once.

As they entered the HQ, Hope swallowed hard. As much as he desired entering the gravity well so that he could be close to Noel again, he dreaded it. He didn't like the idea of having to wait. Of bring trapped inside a small box while those that he loved and cared about were in danger. He swallowed hard, he wanted to stay outside and help. But he wasn't chosen.

He had spent so much of his youth hating the fact that he had been chosen, that he had to fight and sacrifice and hurt. And now he wanted nothing more then to be in that place again. He felt like a fool.

Snow watched grimly as they were prepped to go into the gravity well. Before they breached the barrier that no one else could pass, Snow stopped him.

"See you on the flip slide kiddo." He waved at them but Hope had no way to reply. He tongue was frozen in fear and anguish as the last member of his family left his life, again.


	16. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild post appears!
> 
> We are getting closer to the end! About 3 more chapters to go!

Noel stared at the barren landscape that seemed to only exist in his memories. It was strange. They weren't in 700AF. He knew that for a fact as he stared at the desolate landscaped. Serah stared around at the ruined landscape and then gasped as people appeared walking past them. Noel turned to her.

"What... what do you think happened here?" Serah asked as the time changed and now there were a different set of people walking past them.

"I think... I think we're not in a time... Look at how the people keep changing. It looks like glimpses of different times." Noel replied as he scratched his head before turning to her. "We did go through a booby trapped gate... Even though we disarmed it that doesn't mean it would work well."

"Serah." A voice interrupted them and they both started as they turned around to find another person who was static in this ever changing landscape.

"C-Claire!" Serah gasped and ran towards her sister but the older woman stopped her with a hand.

"I'm not really here... but this is the only place that we can talk. The time draws near to the end." Lightning spoke as she crossed her arms and stared them down. "Hold onto your resolve."

"What resolve." Noel gasped as he stared between the two. "I can't just kill him! He's my friend... My brother!"

"And you would leave him to continue to suffer?" Lightning asked as she turned to look at him. "Are you really foolish enough to only think of your feelings? Can't you see what's really happening? Caius is not your friend. He's not your brother. He's your enemy!"

"NO!" Noel shouted as he threw his hands out in frustration. "You're wrong! He is my family."

"At the end of days." Lightning spoke, holding a hand up to quiet Serah. "He asked you to kill him... to take his place without even telling you what that meant. Caius has been alive since the first peoples of our world. And you're Yeul was the last to ever be born. He would have damned you to live alone... forever."

"I..." Noel swallowed hard, he couldn't argue that it was a lie. He had naively convinced himself that he didn't have to hurt Caius. That he could make him see reason. That they would find their Yeul and live happily. But after being with Hope, realizing he didn't want to leave the other. But also... realizing what he wanted was a lie. "I know. I know but-"

"But what?" Lightning bit off. "Caius isn't even our only problem. He has..."

"The Paradox Army right? It's not over until we deal with them." Serah finally spoke again.

"Something like that." The older girl replied. "We have allies against them... but they can't help until-"

"Until what?" Serah asked.

"I can't say." Lightning turned to the side and the world around them suddenly became static and a gate appeared off in the distance. 

"UNTIL WHAT?" Serah shouted. "I know you know!"

"I-" Lightning closed her eyes briefly and crossed his arms. "When Caius is killed the gates between worlds will open. The battle between Etro and the Paradox Army will happen. We will not be fighting in that war. But there is a chance that we could be affected."

"How?" Noel asked.

"Because the battle will take place on our world the chaos could infect the people who are still living." Lighting closed her eyes again. She had said too much. "Now go."

Both looked like they wanted to protest but they knew there was nothing that they could do. With a deep sigh, Serah grabbed Noel's hand and started for the gate. There was nothing else that they could do and she knew that Lightning would say nothing more. Noel grumbled to himself as he followed her to the gate and on to their future.

*****************************

Noel swallowed hard as he sat with Serah in another place between time. It had surprised Serah that Lightning had sent them to Serendipity of all places but as she looked over her dear friend, she realized that it was with good reason. Noel looked torn apart, his head in his hands. She moved closer and sat down beside her.

"I can't do it." He choked out finally and Serah realized with a bit of horror that Noel was crying. "I can't just kill someone that I love. How could... how could anyone ask that of me?"

She rubbed at his hair soothingly and leaned against him. She didn't really have any words or ideas for him. She didn't know Caius like Noel did and had no way of knowing what Caius even meant to the other. She also knew that he wasn't really asking her either. Even if she had an answer it would have only been a justification for her. She couldn't make these decisions for him.

"We'll cross the bridge when we get there." She stated, knowing it wasn't an answer or even a feasible solution. "Let's capture him and figure things out from there okay?"

"O...okay." He didn't sound like he believed her at all. And that was okay, the most important thing was that he managed to stand up. As they walked towards the gate to continue their journey though. His gait slipped and he leaned against one of the gaming pavilions and then slumped down to his knees.

"Noel?" She asked quietly. His body began quivering and she realized that he was having a seizure. She pulled him down and laid him out. She waved frantically at the staff who came and helped her to stabilize him. When he finally calmed down, Serah realized that she was crying. Her sight bleary and face covered in angry red splotches. She was such an ugly crier.

"S-Serah?" Noel asked as he stared up at the sky. "W-where are we?"

"We're in Serendipity... Don't you remember?" She asked in choked off words, trying to quell the pain building up in her chest.

"Oh... I thought that we were supposed to go back to 400AF and help Hope?" He asked as he turned his head to face her. Serah immediately began to cry again. Had he really forgotten that? He'd been in 400AF for around 6 months. Being with Hope, loving Hope. Had he forgotten all of it? "Serah?"

"I... Let's stay in Serendipity another night yeah? We can set out again tomorrow." She replied once she had contained herself. The staff immediately went to secure them another room without her even asking. She tried to help Noel sit up but he pulled away whimpering in pain. He swallowed hard and stared up at the sky for a moment before he jerked in surprise.

"I...I forgot..." Noel spoke quietly. "We were in the Academy HQ and the buildings separated and Hope hit his head really hard but... what? What happened afterwards?"

"Don't think about it!" Serah gasped. "Let's just get to out hotel room right now okay? Let's just focus on right now."

Noel nodded weakly and when he felt a bit better, they got up and made their way up to the room. Serah ordered Noel to lay down and took care of everything for that night. After all was said and done, she sat on her bed watching Noel sleep. She wrapped her hand around the necklace that Snow had given her for their engagement. She hadn't wanted to admit it while Noel was ailing but she needed Snow now. She wasn't sure she was strong enough to watch Noel forget them.

***************************

In the morning Noel seemed, better wasn't the word for it. Ambivalent seemed better. The two moved towards the gate once the young man had insisted he was fine. There was no reason to delay the inevitable. As they made their way to the gate. Serah couldn't help the trepidation that she felt mounting in her heart. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to save Lightning more then anything and save Noel and the world. But she had a feeling that she'd been lied to. They would all be together Snow had said. But as she watched Noel walk in front of her, knowing that his mind had more holes in it then Swiss cheese. She doubted those words. What kind of life would be left for Noel if he became nothing more then a soulless guardian of the Time Priestess?

"Come on slowpoke!" Noel called back to her as he activated the gate, a fake smile on his face. "We've got places to be."

"Yeah." Serah said, her own smile just as fake. "Let's go."

****************************

They exited the gate in 500AF to mass chaos. Some of the buildings were still moving towards the Ark Hope had built but it was obvious that a massive battle was attacking. Chaos monsters littered the path that they had chosen. Neither was really sure of where they were going though. After another bad turn Noel turned to her in frustration.

"Let's head for HQ. Hope'll know what to do." He stated and she nodded even though she didn't really believe him.

It took what seemed like hours for them to even get near the Academy Headquarters and even then it was a move made in vain. Noel growled, he want to reach Hope and see him one more time before his memories of the other were completely erased.

"Of course." A voice sounded behind them, Caius. "We finally meet at the new end of days."

"Caius." Noel swallowed hard as he stared at his mentor, a man that he still held in the highest of esteems. "What's going on?"

"So... you've still retained your own personality and mind." The other seemed truly surprised and Noel felt something inside him sink. "By now, you should have been ready for the mantle of guardian."

"And what does that mean?" Serah dashed in front of him, and held up her bow at their enemy. "What is the meaning of this?"

"So is it your fault?" Caius asked. "The reason that he still remembers all those useless things. I don't need a needy child filled with emotions. I need a replacement! Someone to take this burden!"

Serah slid a step back in surprise at the rage emitting from Caius. Behind her, Noel was trembling, she could feel it. She wanted to comfort him but didn't dare turn around. This might have been the ultimate betrayal for Noel. To know that the man he loved and carried in esteem had raised him to be a doll. A container for the heart.

"If I remove you then he should abandon useless memories and become the guardian." He growled and then paused as if realized who Serah was. His purple eyes turned dark with true rage. "You."

"Yeah me." Serah growled as she notched an arrow. "You're done hurting my friends!" She let loose an arrow.

It all happened so fast. The arrow struck Caius in the shoulder as Chaos Bahumat and Snow appeared. The chaos guardian screamed in rage and grabbed at Noel pulling him to him and into a portal that was opening behind him Serah screamed as she chased after him. There was a split second when she thought that she wasn't going to catch him she was suddenly grabbed and pushed forwrd. She realized that it was the Shiva sisters, boosting her speed. She was flung into the portal and into the middle of a fight.

She clambered back to her feet as Noel went flying past her, swords out, clashing with Caius in sparks of deep purple chaos and sickening green. She realized in some horror that they place they were in was outside time again. She brought up her hands and Moggle transformed into her bow and arrow. She wanted to join the fight, but she knew that this was really Noel's fight.

But that wasn't going to stop her from fighting. She notched her bow and sent two energy arrows into the fray. Noel, so in tuned with Serah's fighting style, directed Caius right into her line of fire. He scrambled back as the arrows crested over his left shoulder and couldn't help but smirk as one connected. He didn't want to kill Caius but the joy of the fight caused excitement to surge through his veins. The arrows caused cracks to appear in his armor.

"Come on Noel." Caius spoke as he lifted his hand, calling a summon. "After all this time, you still haven't realized that this is your destiny?"

"I... I can't kill you." Noel paused, his swords in a defensive position. "You are my friend. My family."

The laugh that came from Caius' mouth was the most terrifying thing that Serah had ever heard. She found herself taking a step back and her bow lowering. Part of her wondered with a bit of hysteria how Noel could have ever thought of this monster as family and even the fact that he continued to do so. She strengthened her resolve immediately. To lose herself now was to die. On the other hand Noel, poor sweet Noel was looking as if his whole world had died.

"You think of me as family? As a friend?" Caius scoffed as he glared at the other. "I have lived for thousands, hundreds of thousands of years. And you think I'd waste my esteem on a poor peasant boy from a dying village? You are nothing more then a doll Noel Kreiss... The poor unlucky brat that happened to be healthy enough. The others were pathetic, malnourished little thieves that died quickly and pitfully. If you had had the good grace to die as a child then you wouldn't be here."

Serah at the point dropped her weapon, not even checking to see if Moggle had transformed back. She dashed forward and wrapped her arms around Noel from behind. She could feel him trembling.

"Don't listen!" She gasped into his ears. It felt like Noel's entire self was trembling now. She watched as he fought to keep his sword up, half struggling against her as well as Caius' words.

"All that happened! All that you taught me!" The pleading in Noel's voice was heartbreaking.

"Come now... Do you really remember any of that at this point Noel?" Caius laughter was so cruel. Mog flew in front of Noel as if to protect her. This was not the battle that any of them had expected. "Tell me Noel... What color was your grandmother's hair?"

That was the breaking point for Noel. He shoved Serah back and pushed Moggle out of the way as he dashed forward swords raised offensively. He slammed his broadsword against Caius pushing him back but the other merely laughed.

"Do you remember Saul?" Caius continued to taunt as he successful parried every blow that Noel sent at him. "No face comes to mind does it? How about Lenny?"

So angry now, Noel's attacks became harder, more reckless. Serah lifted her hand out to Mog to transform him into a sword. She knew this was risky, but she had to bring Noel back. If things went this way, Noel would become the guardian. She dashed into the battle and crossed swords with Caius, Noel rearing back out of her way. Caius glared at her and lifted his hand to force her back with magic.

"Shell." Serah shouted as she held up her sword and looked over to Noel. "I won't leave you. Think of the friends you have now! If we can stop Caius we can restore your memories!"

Noel paused and stared at them, the rage faded from his mind and he lowered his swords watching almost with detachment as Caius managed to force her back with a combination of magic and physical attacks. Noel twirled his swords in his hands and looked up at the other. Caius paused and turned to him, hand still aimed at Serah.

"One question." Noel asked quietly, his mind felt hazy and his heart was throbbing in emotional pain. He had given up on Caius. There was nothing there for him, he understood that now. But Yeul... "You're doing this to save Yeul right? She...?"

"Which Yeul are you talking about? Still so focused on the one from your time right? You love her don't you?" Caius sneered as he brandished his sword. "All those Yeuls... Every one you have met is dead. Gone. Some you even killed. When this is done... I will restore the original Yeul. And yours will have never existed."

Something in Noel cracked. Not just from the thought of his Yeul never existing but the realization that Caius planned to destroy everything. Maybe it would be a timeless world... but he would freeze the world at a time far, far back into the past. And Noel himself would be a useless dead puppet to house the heart of Etro... Silver hair and the brightest of green eyes flashed in Noel's mind.

"I love my Yeul," He stated firmly, "of course I did. She was with me til the end. You didn't even care enough to be with her when things ended." A sobbing laugh left Noel's mouth and Serah felt hope shoot through her veins again. "I won't let things end like this."

"Don't you realize that it's too late?" Caius asked teasingly.

"Serah! Get ready!" Noel shouted he shifted back into battle mode. He wasn't going to let this go to waste. He knew that Serah had the box to take the heart. He thought of the Caius of his past and wondered if he would ever remember his tribe really. And then thought of Hope and Serah and all the others he'd met. He wouldn't let them be taken away. It was better to be a memory then nothing at all.

Noel surged foward, broadsword up and forced him back. He spun quickly and clashed with Caius' sword with his smaller one. Caius shoved him back and slammed his sword forward. Noel brought up his blades and stopped the attack. Caius growled at him but Noel had been training. Had gotten stronger both mentally and physically. He shoved Caius back hard and brought his broadsword down and forced the dull blade into his shoulder. 

Caius grunted and gasped in pain. An arrow bloomed into his stomach and the next grunt was weaker. Caius' healing powers were kicking in. Noel brought up his short sword and used it to knock the sword out of Caius' hand.

"Yield." He hissed as he glared down at his former mentor. A man who had lied to him every day of his life. "There is nothing left."

"Oh... Noel... Still to afraid." Caius hissed.as he pushed back. Another arrow bloomed this time into his side. And then Serah appeared beside Noel.

"Are you ready?" She asked quietly as Noel pulled back his short sword and aim it at Caius' heart.

"Yes." He gritted his teeth and pressed the sword forward.

Caius could only laugh. "Really? This is your stand? To do exactly as I wished?!"

But Noel didn't reply, his focus completely on his actions. He felt the chaos begin to arch up his arm. He used his will to direct it. He felt the pull, the idea of the power was intoxicating. He shifted his mind and focused more firmly on pushing the chaos where he wanted it to go. He could feel Caius struggling against him. This wasn't what he wanted.

"STOP IT! NOEL! YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME!" Caius gasped as he struggled.

"You said." Noel rasped as he opened his eyes to look at his mentor. "That to take the heart... You had to die. Instead you wanted to turn me into a doll. I will not bend to your will. I... I will carry on Yeul's memory and Yeul's wish. For a future of happy people."

The light in Caius' eyes begin to die and slowly put surely faded. The eternal guardian was dead. Searh snapped the box closed as soon as the last strings of chaotic darkness had disappeared into it. She grasped the small box against her chest as she watched Noel slowly lower Caius to the ground. The young man dropped his own swords as he stared at the dead body. Slowly the body faded.

Serah stood awkwardly not sure of what to do. She watched as Noel picked up Caius' sword and thrust it into he ground. After a few minutes he sunk down and laid his hand against the sword. Serah couldn't help but turn around to give him some semblance of privacy as the other began to cry. The cries were loud and soul wracking. There was nothing left of his time she realized with a pain of her own.

It was always kind of thing that they danced around. Noel was the last human but it hadn't really been true. There had always been Caius. And now it really was only Noel. And no one else. He couldn't return to that time. There was no one left from that time the only thing there now was death. And she realized with a choked sob of her own that their actions would have made it so that maybe those people would have never been born. Or at least born in that way.

"Serah?" The voice was a welcome distraction. Not Snow as she had expected but instead Lightning. It hadn't occurred to Serah that they switched dimensions durning the fight with Caius. Only now that she opened her eyes did she realized that they weren't in 500AF anymore. Lighting had her hands out looking expectantly at the box. "Is that the heart?"

"It... it is." She replied quietly and Lightning nodded.

"I... I need to take it to the throne. And I need you to get Noel back to 500AF." She took the box but stepped closer and laid her hand gently on her sister's head. "It's almost over. You two... I know it doesn't seem like it but... You did good."

Serah nodded weakly. She watched as Lightning slowly walked back towards the dead city that Valhalla consisted of, back to the goddess' throne. Serah turned back to Noel who had quieted now. He was sitting in front of the sword, his eyes blank. She approached him and laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Noel?" She asked quietly but the other didn't really respond. "Noel... Let's get out of here."

She watched as he stood and moved to his swords. He sheathed them and walked back to her side. Serah swallowed hard, Noel seemed more like a doll, an animatronic doll. She took his hand and walked tower and this distortion that would take them back to 500AF. As they entered the rift, she saw him turn slightly as if searching for someone.

But there was no one there to find. Not in that place.

*************************

Lightning stood before the throne with the heart of Etro. The eternal goddess covered in black threads and silk slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were a vibrant blue that reminded Light instantly of the Seeress. The goddess' dispassionate gaze lowered to the box as she sat up slowly. Her dress melted away to a nude body that seemed rather plain for a goddess before a dress of the purest white covered her. Etro's gate opened. And Light pushed the box inside the goddess, into a secret dimension.

The goddess sighed and slumped back into her throne. Two crystals appeared on either side of her. She looked at Lightning, her eyes malevolent. "The price has yet to be paid."

Lightning drew back as the crystals grew in size. The goddess' eyes grew wide and luminous. "The war must begin!"


	17. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, this was a long in coming update. I should really have this all finished by the end of this month at the latest and on to the next. But this was far toooooooo long. But it's my own fault. Somehow last month I had 4 jobs. I'm back down to like 2 but yeah, 4 jobs is a seriously terrible bad idea.

In 500AF, Serah dragged Noel through the streets towards HQ. The young man still had yet to respond with anything resembling a human like reaction and she feared that whatever Caius' death had done to him, couldn't be undone. It was hard going, Academia had begun it's evacuation and many of the buildings were breaking apart to move on the new Ark. Noel was wrenched from her grip and she turned to look at him. He was standing, staring up into the sky.

She reached out for him but found herself following his gaze. Up in the sky, Etro's gate had appeared. The eye still closed, but she knew that it would open. She gasped as she remembered what everyone had been saying. There was a price to pay. And the war was coming. She pulled on Noel hard, if the gate opened, chaos would consume the world. Etro's war was close to beginning.

************************

Hope frantically worked at the computer terminal looking for any signs of paradox activity and/or gate activity. He needed to find Serah and Noel. His worry amassed tenfold when the stark white symbol of Etro's gate appeared. He turned to Aina.

"What is the status of the evacuation?" He asked frantically and she laid her hand on his shoulders.

"Calm down. The evacuation is almost complete. The Academy is about to start moving. If they are back from the rift they will be on the Ark. Stop worrying. Focus on the task at hand." She ordered.

Hope shrugged her off. Didn't she understand, this was his family that he was worried about. They had been separated for so long and this was the time, the first time in so many years they had a chance of being reunited. He pushed past her to a new terminal and logged into the security cameras. He sighed in relief as he saw Noel and Serah entering HQ. He breathed out in relief.

"Hey short stuff!" A loud static-y voice burst through his comm and he jerked back in surprise. "We got 'em. We'll see you on the ark!"

While Hope was happy for Snow's message he really wished that the other would just leave him alone. He needed to touch Noel and know that he was real that he wasn't leaving. So much was happening and all at the same time. He didn't want to admit it but Noel had given him a kind of stability that he had been missing. He headed for the lift down. His arm was grabbed and he turned to see Arcane.

"Stay here." She ordered firmly, her purple eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Something bad is going to happen. I'll retrieve them."

Hope wanted to protest but he knew that Arcane wasn't going to let him have his way. He nodded weakly and closed his eyes. "Please hurry."

******************************

The building shook with a great rattle and Serah shoved Noel against a wall as she prepared for the building the move dangerously. Instead the building settled. She lifted her head up to look at Noel but the other was staring down the hall, his eyes still unnervingly blank. She reached up and touched his cheek, he looked down at her.

"Noel?" She asked quietly and his lips quirked, not quite what she was looking for, but she saw a shade of his former self in his eyes.

"Don't worry about me." He whispered, his voice raspy from crying. "We need to get on the Ark."

She didn't want to agree but she knew that that was their only option right now. Suddenly the whole building gave a strong rattle and then everything stilled. She turned to look out the window. Etro's gate was still in the sky, slightly open. Nothing seemed to be moving and she watched with wide eyes as Fal'cie began to move in the sky.

She recognized a few form Snow's stories, Atomos and Titian. She jerked in surprised as she realized that Fal'cie were even coming from Cocoon even though those were supposedly 'dead' from Orphan being gone. Swallowing hard she watched as they converged on the unmoving gate. Seemingly all the Fal'cie in the world gathering at the gate.

Noel's eyes widen. He remembered the stories of the end of the Fal'cie. "We have to go. NOW."

They rushed towards the elevator only to be intercepted by Arcane. She directed them towards a different elevator. They too the service elevator up and Noel, was breathing hard. He stared at the ground and when the doors opened, he surged forward towards the nearest window. There, the eye was opening but it was getting farther away. The building was moving towards Ark.

The eye opened fully and a light so bright that Noel had to turn away burst forward. When he could look again, the Fal'cie had been stripped of their bodies, back to their truest foundation. The harden crystals of chaos. 

"What's happening?" Serah asked nervously as Arcane walked up behind them.

"It means that the war is beginning. This is Etro's gambit." Arcane spoke. "Lightning will join us soon."

Serah supposed that she was supposed to find that comforting but she didn't see it that way. The world was ending, at least the world as they knew it. They managed to clear the ark's gates and as they closed she watched as the resounded explosion of Cocoon rained crystal dust onto the world.

"This... It's better but." Noel couldn't seem to finish his sentence. He could only stare at the closed gate wishing that he could see the outside world. The world that was turning into the world of the future. But there was still hope. He had to believe that.

"NOEL!" A voice called from the door way. The hunter didn't have time to prepare himself before arms wrapped around him. Said person was slightly shorter then him and had a head full of silver hair. It felt right, Noel thought as he wrapped his arms around the other. To hug this man, but there was a problem that he wasn't sure of how to address.

"I'm sorry." He whispered guilty. "But could you tell me your name?"

The reaction was immediate, the shorter man pulled out of his arms nervously and Noel had to resist the urge to reach back out to him. He knew that there was something familiar about that face. The other seemed flustered and took large steps back and then his face became completely composed.

"I'm sorry for the way that I acted." The man stated firmly. "Though you may not remember me... My name is Hope Estheim and I'm the director of the Academy. Someone who has helped you out a lot in your travels."

"But-"

"Now if you'll come this way." Hope about faced and began walking back towards the door gesturing them to follow him. "We need to get upstairs where everyone is waiting."

Serah grasped Noel's arm as he reached out for the other. The way that that man... Hope was acting was strange. More then strange but Serah shook her head firmly and he held back his questions. As they walked the halls things vaguely seemed familiar to Noel. As if it were things he'd seen in his dreams but nothing seemed to make sense. They took another elevator up and entered a quiet reception room. And he saw the first familiar face that he'd seen so far.

Lightning Farron was standing on the other side of the room looking out the window to the observation deck. She wasn't dressed like the Goddess' protector but Noel recognized her anyway. And Serah most definitely did. She dashed forward and hugged her sister tight, thought the older woman didn't really return her hug.

"Welcome back." Serah smiled up at her sister and Lightning's face softened into a little smile.

"I'm home." She replied and hugged her sister back for the first time in a long time.

Noel feeling a little awkward looked over at Arcane and Hope, two new faces but two people that obviously knew him. Especially Hope, but the silver haired man was at a terminal talking to others and doing things that flew completely over the hunter's head. Between the four people in the room the only one that seemed available to talk to was Arcane and he wasn't sure about that

"Don't look so nervous." The purple eyed woman spoke as she clapped a hand on his shoulder. "We knew that there was a possibility you'd forget us, but your safety was honestly our priority."

"But... why can't I remember?" Noel asked quietly.

"Caius..." Arcane looked away from him and he followed her gaze to Hope, who looked very tired. "As far as we can guess... He was toying with your mind to try and turn you into a new Guardian for Etro's heart."

"That was my mission but... When I defeated him." Noel clenched his hands. "I directed the chaos into a box."

"Yes." Arcane replied. "Hope made that box to save your life. He's very grateful that you're safe."

"But why?" He asked turning to her. "Why would he save me?"

Arcane stared at him with wide eyes and then her eyes softened in pity. "Hope doesn't like to lose people. His greatest desire was the same as your Yeul. A future of happy people... And that is what this ark is. And he worked to save you, so that you could be here to see it."

Noel nodded weakly in understanding. It was a nice idea, but it still didn't explain the way that Hope had greeted him. Or the fact that the older man was obviously distraught.

"According to reports... Something has invaded our world through Etro's eye and destroyed the Fal'cie. It it is most likely chaos. For now we are safe though." Hope didn't turn around from the terminal but his voice carried catching all of their attention. "The new shields were created by Yeul."

"Yeul?" Noel asked quietly.

"Because the chaos that existed in all time... The Yeuls that have passed away are the shepards of Chaos. And you're Yeul... The one that passed onto your her wish... This is her gift to you." Lightning explained quietly. "Outside exists chaos and your body would try to absorb it. So this place... is a safe space for you and all of humanity."

Noel's eyes widened and he stepped up to the terminal that Hope was standing in front of. With a few strokes, an exterior view of the ark could be seen. And a large stark white mark laid against the surface. The mark of his tribe, from the distant future. The mark of his Yeul.

"Would you like to talk to her?" Hope's eyes turned to him and Noel felt taken aback. He could talk to Yeul. His Yeul now? His heart thudded painfully in his chest with hope and with fear. He wanted to see his Yeul, he remembered her vividly. But there was so much that he had forgotten. "Hey Light... Why don't you and Arcane take Serah up to meet everyone else. I'll take Noel to meet Yeul and then catch up."

"Are you sure?" Serah asked nervously. She was terrible empathic and even though Hope hid it well, she could practically feel his pain acutely in her own chest. She didn't want him to hurt anymore. She thought about how sad Hope was when they'd meet in in 10AF and how happy he'd been in 400AF.

"It's fine." Hope waved them off. "After all, a major part of Noel's journey was to see her again. It would be mean to make them both wait any longer."

Serah nodded weakly. She turned to Lightning but the older woman shook her head. As the three women left, Hope turned back to the terminal and began typing furiously. Noah stood in the background nervously. He knew that he should remember this person and yet he didn't and that made him feel even worse. He shifted back behind the other and watched him silently. After a few moments Hope gestured to a different door the the girls had gone through. A door that led outside.

Noel hung back unsure but Hope's face was encouraging. He moved towards the door and Hope followed. At the door he opened to an observation deck, that was covered in screens that were surveying what was taking place outside of the Ark.

"This was made...so that humanity would know when it was safe again to explore Gran Pulse." Hope spoke quietly. "When I lived on Cocoon we had no knowledge of the world below us. And so all we had for them was fear and hatred."

"But the people who were there... they had been long gone by your time." Noel pointed out quietly.

"That's true... We feared the land below. But there were no people. You have a bit in common with my friends Fang and Vanille... They are from 500 years in my past. The War of Transgression. Although I guess not too much in common being from 700 years after." Hope chuckled lightly.

"So...you brought me here for a history lesson?" Noel asked confused as he turned back to the screen, the one that displayed the mark of this tribe, Yeul's mark.

"Actually no. But I've found that it takes time for her to appear." Hope replied.

"Then you've met her?" Noel spun around to face the other.

"Only briefly. As she protects this place from the chaos... she is also chaos." Hope explained quietly. "She's here."

Noel turned around and stared with wide eyes as Yeul slowly formed from lights like pyreflies. He took steps towards her as she became solid. The guardian could barely help himself as he swept her up into his arms. He buried his face in her hair. Still so tiny and ethereal and his best friend.

Hope swallowed painful as he watched them. They looked good together, he thought abstractly. Like two pieces put together. He wanted to feel envious or angry. All he felt was sad. When he'd entered a relationship with Noel he had known that it would be short lived. He sucked in a quiet breath and turned to the exit. Once outside Hope took slow deep breathes to calm down his heart and closed his eyes.

"You knew this was coming." He mumbled to himself quietly. "There are more important things to worry about right now."

Back inside the observation deck, Noel slowly, reluctantly released the small girl. He drank in the sight of her. He hair laying softly against her face, dark against the paleness of her skin. Her green eyes watching him patiently. He swallowed hard as she continued to stare at him with all seeing eyes.

"You still regret stopping him." She finally spoke and he shrugged weakly.

"How can I not? He was... he... and look at the world now. Nothing I did was right." He grumbled but she shook her head and touched his cheek.

"You've done far more good then you realize. What is happen now, was always destined to happen. The fights of the gods are beyond mortal understanding or reasoning."

"So then we were all just pawns." Noel grumbled again but Yeul tapped his nose to bring his attention back to her immediately. 

"No." The word was said much more forceful then Noel was use to her speaking. "You are no more a pawn then the Gods themselves. Old grieves die hard. And time works in circles. No matter how big the circle must connect again. That is what is happening."

"Hope called them shatter points."Noel thought allowed and she nodded.

"The points in time that cannot be changed. Cocoon fell and the gods went to war. The crystal dust spread across the land and for 400 years the world will be uninhabitable. The end of the circle of the Fal'cie circle."

"But the Fal'cie are dead...The light from Etro's gate."

"Yes...and that is why in our time. There were no Fal'cie... And the world was dying. As Gran Pulse goes through it's time of 'death' this time humanity will be safe like it was meant to be."

"Wait... Then... There have been other arks?" He asked quietly.

"Yes. Usually Fal'cie made. Recording history doesn't go much further back then the War of Transgression." Her eyes looked rather sad. "But humans and Fal'cie existed far longer then that. The cycle of the world works in this way."

"But things are changing." Noel commented and Yeul smiled thinly and nodded.

"Yes... mostly due to that man." She commented gesturing towards the door. "In the past... over 500 years ago... He and others orchestrated a way to make humans not reliant on Fal'cie."

"Oh." Noel found that was all he could stay before he steered to different topics. He didn't know why, but he felt uncomfortable talking about Hope.

**********************

Hope stood outside of the observation deck taking deep breathes as he held a hand to his heart. Each deep breath slowly led him to relax more and more. As the melancholy set in fully he found himself feeling more confident in the choices that he was about to make. Approaching the computer he set to work looking over the state of what the cameras left on Gran Pulse could still see. The world looked strange, like the holo-vids that his mom used to ban him from watching.

The world was empty but there was also strange phenomena. Strange wisps of green, purple and yellow shifted around in places like bruises on the Earth. The visual manifestation of chaos. While it was probably too soon for the supposed war to start, there was obviously a gathering of 'troops' so to speak. He continued to scroll through the video feeds not surprised when the wisps occasionally took the shape of people.

One awkwardly enough looked a lot like Alyssa but he wasn't sure where'd he met her or why he knew her name. Although he did feel rather guilty seeing the obvious evidence that she had died. Other wisps where people he didn't now as he shifted through feed after feed until he saw something that still his hands.

In 13AF when he had been making the final decisions about going into the gravity well and leaving behind everything he had every know... his father had died. It was an unfortunate happening but not wholly unexpected. Bartholomew Estheim had been a troubled man after the fall. Losing his wife, the difficulty of almost losing his son had been hard. He had been unable to cope even when Hope had been returned to him.

Both men had thrown themselves into work in a way that was admirable but also dangerous to their health. They supported and enabled each other. Meeting Noel and Serah had made Hope slow down and build a more fruitful work/life balance, but his father had had nothing to alter the course he'd set. The stressed caused heart attack had taken his life swiftly.

To see him standing tall and searching had caused Hope to focus purely on that feed. Was his father apart of the chaos army? Would he choose to fight the currently weakened Etro and complete the Fal'cie mission? He followed his father as he inspected the other streams of chaos until the man grasped one and the other turned into another being. 

Hope stared into confusion. Who would his father be searching for? He hadn't really that he'd blocked out the idea. Didn't want to consider it. But as the features became clearer as being his mother he felt himself shutting down. On the screen his parents embraced as if they hadn't seen each other in a long time. His mother and father didn't look quiet the way he remembered. His father dressed plainly but his mother like a warrior.

It was then he realized there was a strange division between the chaos which led to more questions then answers. Was chaos on both sides of the war? Those that sided with Etro and those with chaos? HE had thought they would just been swirls of energy between the Goddess and the chaos a 'sentient being' with the ability to take on such power. But if it was to be fought through advocates. Hope was beginning to understand why Lightning said they weren't involved.

On a scary note, as long as people continued to die more warriors for each side. Would they attack his ark to get more soldiers for their cause?

***************************

"...Hope!" The silver haired man jerked from his stupor and turned to face the hunter. Noel looked tired but at peace which was more then Hope could say for himself. He forced a slight smile and tugged on Hope's hand again gently. "I'm finshed... Aren't we supposed to go meet up with the others?

"Uh... yes. Yes." Hope reiterated as he stood up and dusted imaginary dust off his clothes. "If you would follow me."

"Aren't you the director? Why are you guiding me around?"

"Because." Hope smiled at him gently, turning to face him. "While you don't remember me. I think that it would probably be nicer to be guided by someone who knows you and is understanding of your situation then someone who doesn't."

"Ah." Noel scratched his head idly. "I guess that makes sense. I do know that I feel rather comfortable around you."

"Good." Hope turned around so that the younger man couldn't see the smile sliding off his face. This wound was still far too fresh and he needed to pass Noel off to someone else. He felt guilty for having such thoughts but there was no way that he could continue this way.


	18. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo boy. In the home stretch. So I wasn't going to spoil this but I feel like I need to do some advance warning. This story is a part of a series. And the next part will be quite dark. I mixed some of my original ideas for this series with what happens in LR and thus... there will be mentions of torture and forms of violence.
> 
> Oh and just to make sure I haven't scared anyone this is not the ending yet. It's just some advance warning because well... over 100 years of torture is a lot.

It had been three weeks since the invasion of chaos and it was obvious that the outside world had changed in ways that were unimaginable. Below them the world of Gran Pulse changed rapidly after the fall of Cocoon. Crystal dust poisoned the land and the water. It was depressing to look at day after day but Hope forced himself to soldier on, checking for the recordings for anything relevant. But also another sighting of his parents.

The others settled in rather easily, use to life on a Cocoon-like place. It was like slipping back into routine. Although memories sometimes caused nervousness. Hope's arc... Bhunivelze was remarkably like Cocoon in some ways and it feed into the anxiety of the fact that the outside world seemed to be stagnating. 

And then there was Noel. The other was as he had always been. Slightly awkward when speaking but mostly affable and still amazingly self confident. While he wasn't quite capable of taking on jobs that were of the more advance flavor he enjoyed being apart of the neighborhood security which mostly consisted of playing with kids. And helping out the elderly go about their daily tasks. Of course, if someone did happen to stir up trouble Noel would be expected to do something about it. But, that was highly unlikely in the neighborhood that Hope had pulled strings for him to be attached to. He had wanted the other to experience as much happiness as possible.

"..pe... HOPE!" The silver haired man jerked up at the loud call of his name and stared up wide eyed at the person he'd been thinking about. Noel was freshly tan from being outside all the time and his shirt had slipped a bit revealing more of his shoulder. His eyes were bright with mischief and Hope had to take a hard swallow. That was his Noel. He was waiting for him to drag him into some kind of crazy adventure in which Hope would be exasperated. But in the end they would kiss and...

"HOPE!" Noel yelled again this time waving a hand in front of his face. 

"I... I'm sorry I guess I keep fading out." The scientist tried his best to smile brightly and the other nodded before grabbing his wrist and dragging him up.

"Serah wanted to talk to you about something... Well something big." The younger man explained as he dragged Hope out of his office and into the HQ proper.

"Oh?" The silver haired man asked as he allowed himself to be dragged around, savoring the warmth of Noel's grip.

"Lighting made contact!" Noel stated as he pivoted around and smiled at Hope brightly. "It might be a breakthrough about fixing the outside world!"

Hope smiled brightly but as soon as Noel had turned away his smile faded. He knew he should be happy and so many other things. But he found that all he was, was sad. What he really wanted was Noel to say that he remembered. He wanted back the life that he had in 400AF. Which was horribly selfish and he chided himself constantly for having such a thought. 

This outcome was bad but he knew that it could have been much worse if he hadn't done what he'd set out to do. This new ark was the only reason that humanity and many other species were going to continue to thrive. The Fal'cie were gone, destroyed by Etro and furthermore if Mog was right, Etro was gone too. The gods that were left didn't care about humanity or Gran Pulse at all. Pulse and Lindzei most certainly weren't going to do anything.

Actually if those two showed up Hope was fairly sure that things were going to get worse. Especially since all their playthings had been destroyed. Hope was apparently so completely lost in his mind that he was utterly surprised when Noel skidded to a stop in front of Serah and Snow's apartment. The hunter was positively vibrating with excitement.

Excited to get started traveling again, excited to leave Hope behind again to go on another journey. Another chance to find Yeul. Hope felt his chest ache with sadness and self condemnation. He pulled his had from Noel's and straightened his jacket. Serah opened the door with a sunny smile, her bright hair pulled back but in more relaxed clothes. No need for battle armor this days.

She was once again a simply teacher until the time to go came again.

"Good you're here." She smiled and opened the door wider. As expected Lightning was there as well as Snow who were sitting around the table in the living room. Serah and Snow's place had become a sort of ground zero for discussion about things that they didn't wish to share with the Academy. Everyone was sitting down and Noel placed a glass of water in front of him. Lightning was still a demigoddess or sorts and would often travel out into the chaos to search for Etro's throne.

According to her, Valhalla and Gran Pulse had merged. While Etro's heart being contained had kept everything from being destroyed. There was still the problem of the weakened Etro. The war would last until Etro had regained her strength. Well, unless the darker side of chaos got to her first and destroyed her.

All possibilities that Hope didn't want to think about.

"Wow! I don't remember you been quite this gloomy!" A familiar voice spoke and Hope found himself standing up so fast that he knocked over his glass of water. He heard a squeak and Serah jumping into action to clean up his mess as he stared with wide eyes and Vanille and Fang. They looked just as they'd ever done. Free from crystal.

But were't they supposed to be trapped in crystal in the Academy epicenter? He reached out carefully and wrapped his arms around Vanille. She was smaller the him now. Fit comfortably against his chest and shoulder like a younger sister. He wanted to cry with happiness. Vanille laughed in delight and gently pushed him away and into Fang.

The other, an older sister faked being put upon and threw an arm around his shoulder. Fang wasn't one for hugs, especially older men. Instead she ruffled his hair, causing his cowlick to stick up and over even more. Hope had his questions choked back through teary laughs. Their whole family was back. Sazh and Dajh weren't here now. But they were most likely at home or on the way. Sazh's farm was on the outskirts of the city.

"Well..." Fang stated as she released Hope and took a seat. "I bet ya wonderin' why the Academy wasn't the one alerting you. And it's because well... the crystal there are now empty shells."

"That's not really a good explanation." Hope replied much calmer now and Fang shrugged her shoulders.

"Well..." Lightning looked uncomfortable. "I was worried that if I woke them up the Academy would want to examine them. So I... used my powers to make fakes when they woke up." Lightning blushed a bit which made Noel laugh loudly and get hit by Serah.

"You understand don'tcha kid? We trust you but not the Academy." Snow interjected with a wave of his hand. "This new world doesn't really understand the l'cie and all that jazz so..."

"I would have protected them." Hope replied firmly. "While I am not necessarily the head of the organization anymore my word is still law."

"But the burden would have been hard." Vanille replied as she took his hands. "Like Light... Fang and I have been watching over everyone to the best of our abilities. I don't really think you can take much more on your plate to be honest."

Hope shook his head. He could do more, he could always do more. He never felt like he was doing enough if he remembered those short weeks when he was originally a l'cie. And even in what capacity that he had helped Noel and Serah nothing he did every felt like enough. He opened his mouth to tell Vanille that she was wrong but the girl merely shook her head and smiled that same smile that use to help him when he was younger.

"We're all tired you know." She whispered and it was like everyone in the room was gone. "You most of all I think."

On the other side of the room as everyone milled about to do other things as they waited for Sazh and Dajh to talk about their next move, Noel found him fading in and out of conversation with Fang. He wanted to pay attention. The people of Oerba while not Farseers often traded with his ancestors and she had much to say about the Yeul she had met before the War of Transgression. But, Noel couldn't help the jealousy he felt at how close Vanille and Hope were.

Hope's eyes was as soft as they'd been on the day they'd met. Well, met again technically but he couldn't remember any prior meetings. Either way, that was a look that was obviously for people who were a certain type of important to him. He didn't even give Lightning that tender eyed look and from what he'd learned of the two she seemed like a likely candidate. Noel wanted that look back for himself and he didn't even know why.

"You know... I thought ya'd be more interested in this." Fang's voice was a lilting tease, Noel expected nothing good out of this. "Or is Hope just that good lookin' now?"

Noel sputtered and looked away as his face became hot. He was not attracted to Hope. He had always expected that he would live with Yeul and Caius. Love had never been a factor for him in his old time. Although he guessed that now was the time to consider such things. But wouldn't Serah be a better candidate? Sure it would be unrequited, she and Snow were practically married. But still. He couldn't have know Hope enough to develop any strong feelings right?

"I'd heard your memory was scrambled up from Light 'n all but really? No one ever said anything to ya?" Fang scratched her head roughly and then grabbed his arm and dragged him away from prying eyes and ears. They might dance around subjects for the sake or propriety or whatever it was they taught Cocoonians but Fang knew that life was too short for that bullshit. "You're really hurtin' Hope you know that? I mean it's not yer fault and all but..."

"What do you mean? How could I hurt Hope?" Noel looked positively puzzled and Fang sighed deeply.

"They really told you nothin' eh? I thought they would have shed that Cocoonian bullshit. Hope loves you! In love with you. I hope you get the picture."

"What?" Noel wasn't sure that his eyes could get any wider but suddenly many things about that first meeting made sense. And he couldn't help but feel like a big jerk. That must have hurt Hope so much. He thought about Caius suddenly and how it must have felt to meet each new Yuel that wouldn't know who he was and how much she meant to him. He looked away. "You better be serious."

"Deadly." Fang crossed her arms. "You two were positively shacking up in 400AF for around 6 months I think. They all think that they should give you space and not make you remember but surely you've noticed the uncomfortable silences?"

"Hope kind of avoids me at times." Noel murmured thoughtfully and the he blinked as he recalled once again the way it felt to hold the other. "I need to talk to Hope."

"Hold your horses!" Fang grabbed his shoulder and spun him back around. "You'll say nothing at this very moment got it?" She waited for him to nodded before she continued on. "While I'd absolutely love to get chewed out by Serah about tellin' you too soon I have no desire for that. I want you to think real damn hard about what you want from Hope before you even breath a word about the fact that you know."

Noel swallowed at her orders but realized that she was probably right. While he didn't remember too much about 'before' he knew from the now that Hope would be horribly embarrassed if he made a big display in front of the others. And honestly Noel had no idea of how to talk to Hope without making it a big confrontation that Hope would probably sweep away.

And furthermore, he didn't know what he wanted to be to Hope with the information he knew now. He would talk to Yeul first he decided. If nothing came of that then he would... He felt his mind hit a blank wall. What would he do? He didn't want to hurt Hope's feelings. The man had done a lot for him and for the others. What little he learned about the other was that he was truly hardworking. What Noel also knew was that somewhere inside of him were feeling

***********************

"So you managed to awaken Fang and Vanille with the goddess powers you aren't supposed to be able to use. Somehow I don't buy that suddenly your powers awoke." Hope stated once they'd all calmed back down.

They were all sitting around the table again with drinks ranging from juice to alcohol. They had all fallen in various states of quiet. The way that it would happen back during the days of being a l'cie. Although Hope realized the table was now a bit bigger but the newest members of the group so to speak seemed to slot themselves right in with no problems. 

"Well it's not like I never lost my powers." Light defened quietly. "And I never told you that I lost them. I just never used them during the time. After all, they attract the chaos and are useless against an entire army like what we are seeing outside. I'd hurt enemies and allies all the same."

"I'm not talking about fighting the war outside!" Hope resisted the urge to slam his hands on the table in annoyance. "I'm talking about having a fully functioning loop. This isn't like back then Light where we all are stuck as l'cie. If you don't trust me just because I'm attached to the Academy then why am I even here at all!"

Noel started at the almost desperate look on Hope's face. He had a feeling that this had been something a long time brewing. He knew for a fact that within the group there had been more secrets budding between them. The biggest being about Noel's memories but this surprised the hunter.

"It's not that I didn't trust you." Light waved a hand as if to push away the issue. "I just figure that I wouldn't trouble you with it. After all, you might control the entire Academy but you definitely don't control me."

Hope seemed to wilt then and he looked around at the others.The scientist really looked at the others. Everyone looked the same as they ever did. Even Snow, with just a clothing change would look the exact same as before. No one had changed but him. He pressed his hands to the table and stood up slowly.

"It's apparent... That the problem seems to be with me specifically. I can tell that you all know what's going on, are preparing for the next battle." Noel and Serah both winced, that was Hope's director voice. "I hope to continue to aid you with my continuing support but I ask that you don't call me for any of these meetings again."

"Now wait just a second!" Fang stood up and grabbed Hope's arm, but the silver haired man shook her off and continued to head for the door. Vanille sat quietly but didn't say anything at all. Even Sazh was looking rather contrite. Lightning, ever stubborn crossed her arms and turned away.

"Well that ended well." Snow crossed his arms behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. "I'll talk to Hope later and undo this mess you made Lightning but you've come to really suck a dealing with people."

"He didn't need to know." She reiterated.

"He's a twenty seven year old man. Are you really telling me that you can't see that?" Snow turned to look at her. "Honestly, if it weren't for him half the shit that you told us to do wouldn't have even happened."

"He's also apart of the government. We can't trust them!" Lightning returned bitterly and it was Sazh that glared her down this time.

"Look, I realize that this old man over here is seriously out of the loop. But all that Hope has sacrificed for us and this is how you repay him?" He scrubbed a hand across his face. "You do realize that if you had succeeded Ms. Goddess in training that Hope would be stuck in this time without his family, without his friends and without the people that he chose to help."

"That was his choice!" She shouted and that off the true battle.

"ALL RIGHT." Serah slammed her hands on the table causing the glasses to jump and some to even fall over. She glared at all of them and then at her sister specifically. "It's obvious that we've all lost track of everything." She paused and continued to glare until everyone sat down as if she were their teacher.

"Hope is an important part of our team and he always has been. I don't know what broke in your heads to think that pushing him out would help. As Sazh said he is a grown man. Furthermore, I know what you are doing Light and I vote no."

"It's the best way to fix things!" Lightning protested.

"It's the best way to pretend that nothing's happening." Snow interjected almost gently between the two sisters. With a deep sigh realizing that only the two sisters and him knew about the plan. Knew about why Lightning had so sharply picked at Hope's weak spots. "I guess I should tell you guys what the hell is going on."

"That would be nice." Sazh crossed his arms, his face still disapproving. He'd felt bad sitting by quietly but he'd thought that Hope had been in the loop of whatever they were fighting over. He didn't feel comfortable interjecting his opinion where it didn't belong.

"Fine." Lightning looked away. Snow rolled his eyes but Serah just shook her head and started to explain. 

'There is a way if we combine our powers to return to the past. We as a group can go back to 5AF and continue life from there." Serah took a deep sigh. "But Hope can't go. And considering the state of the world now he would probably refuse to go if he could. For him to go back to anytime after he was born is to create a paradox."

"And so you wanted to piss him off enough to not feel guilty about leaving him." Noel interjected far to astonished at the cold heartedness to be angry.

"No." Lightning stated quietly and then sighed weakly. "Well, yes. Because we don't belong here. And I don't want to be here. We could go..."

"You wanted to leave him behind once before. I'd thought you'd grown since then."

"AND WHAT'S SO WRONG WITH BEING SELFISH FOR ONCE?" Lightning asked bitterly. "For so long I've been fighting. Is it so wrong to want to go back and just live a simple life. Like you said Hope is grown and he's made his own choices."

"He's one of us! Snow glared her down. "Isn't that enough."

"To be completely truthful." Serah looked down at her hands and then up at the whole group. "I'm really sorry. To all of you."

"And what do you have to be sorry about little miss?" Fang asked quietly and Serah let out a soft cry.

"Everything that has happened... Well, you've all been kind of pawns to be honest." She looked really contrite and she reached out and took Noel's hand rather afraid that he would leave. "Everything that Lightning and I have done... As been to be reunited in our own time. The... the only other person we ever really considered in all of this was Snow to be honest."

"Well I knew that." Fang shrugged her shoulders not even looking bitter about it. "Everyone started out with selfish means. Vanille and I decided to go back into crystal because the world was too different to us. Our world was gone remember? No Oerba and really no humans left on Pulse. We figured that it was better for us then someone else to make sure the world could continue on."

"But never did you set out to actually sacrifice people." Serah couldn't help but cry now unable to continue on she slumped against Snow but never released Noel's hand.

Lightning sighed deeply and then looked away. She knew that Serah expected her to explain everything and that had never been apart of her plans. She sighed deeply and decided to explain her original plans up to now.

"I guess since Serah opened that can of worms. Etro gave me a choice before she was sealed. A choice I knew I had all along. All of us in this room plus Hope were never just l'cie. We were well... Always something more." She paused and took a deep breath. "When I was taken by Etro to protect her and meet Caius I got to see the future. Much of it and Etro explained to me a way that I could save Serah and myself. And without a thought I set the plan in action."

"I sent Noel to start Serah on the path believing that Noel would die in the final battle with Caius. I never contacted Hope of bestowed power to him because to do so would have awoken his innate powers and then I wouldn't be able to control them. The same for Sazh and Dajh. The plan was with the sacrifice of Noel it would open a gap. A bigger paradox then anything we'd seen yet. And to solve it I would use the powers of those who were not awaken aside from Snow to seal up the paradox."

"And what would that have done?" Noel asked quietly.

"It... It would have sent the three of us back to right after the timeline was screwed up in 0AF. With a few paradoxs that would seal the timeline back up. So Hope would still jump forward and forward. Sazh and Dajh would still get swallowed up." Lightning took a deep breath. "And in 500AF Hope would be sucked away as well. And in 500AF. Cocoon and this ark would merge into Gran Pulse and those 6 people would become the world pillars."

"So you would have damned all of us into being crystal til the end of time." Sazh stared at her with wide eyes.

"Not... exactly." Lightning shrugged helplessly as Serah wiped her eyes. "You would have become the next Fal'cie. There are 6 important elements to our world. Earth, water, wood, metal, fire, and air. You would basically be the gods for well sort of a new world. The only thing that kept that from happening... Is that Serah decided that she didn't want that world. And she put in place the changes to save Noel's life."

"And you wanted to change things back."

"All I have to do is expose Noel to chaos and kill him then." Lightning looked contrite for a second. "We've been keeping that from Hope because I knew that Hope wouldn't stand for it."

"And neither will I!" Fang slammed her hands against the table. "Honestly Light, we challenged out fates once before and saved the world and can do it again! I'll even take on the gods if I need to!"

"I agree!" Vanille stated. "But... I think we should talk about this later. To be honest... I'm a little upset with you right now."

*****************************

Hope glared as he slammed his hand against the palm sensor for his apartment ad entered quietly. He throw off his jacket and shoved off his boots. He was so angry that he felt like he could barely see straight. Of all the things. For all the things that he'd done. He'd left behind what little life he had cobbled together because he'd believe in Lightning and he'd wanted to do anything to help her save their friends. To save her from whatever Etro had done for her.

And after all that he'd done in her name, for her. She'd decided that he was the enemy. He knew that he responded childishly. Had jumped the gun before truly damning words were said. But in the end he had know where their argument was going. Not only did she not trust him.

But in a lot of ways he had been used. And he felt used. Like an old toy that no one wanted anymore. Pouring himself a mix of alcohol he moved over to his balcony and dropped down in a huff. All his life felt like waste. Even as he looked over his ark. Over the people who were alive today thanks to him, protected from the poisonous crystal dust and the other dangers that the outside world now proposed.

And yet it all felt like it was pointless now. He'd lost Noel and while he knew that that could be temporary, but he wasn't sure if he could fight in the face of Yuel. He knew that the other needed to solve that first before he could focus on other things. And he wanted to say that all that he had done he was proud of. And he was.

But it was just like when he was a kid. All these things he'd done to impress his father and it was never enough. And now over ten years later. And hundreds of intermedium years as well. He was stuck in this mindset again. He'd created a whole new world and it wasn't good enough for Lightning to finally see him as a friend as whatever. All because he wasn't Serah. And the whole group had pushed him aside now.

All because he was tied to the government. Because he wasn't the little Hope that they'd all whether consciously or unconsciously left behind. In the end, they hadn't wanted him around. Before he'd been kept on out of guilt. Out of being young enough to fight for and to remind them of why they were fighting. Serah and Dajh. And now that he wasn't basically a cute mascot with good healing abilities. He was useless to them.

Taking a deep drink he thought of Noel's embraces. Of the time that they'd shared. A time that he'd truly been happy since his mother had died. He closed his eyes and decided that it didn't matter. What mattered now was the world before him. He had to steer this new world though this new hardships and get them to the other side. He'd been left behind before and lived on. He could do it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to repeat this isn't the end! There are two more chapters. And then the darker stuff. I decided to mix this in mostly because I wanted to explore more of what Hope's mental state would be like, etc, etc.
> 
> Anyways, it is now a series that will be 4ish parts... And once I figure out a series title I will er... make that.


	19. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woot close to the end of this part in the series... I'm proud to say I am now to two jobs! I'll take a break to build up some writing after I post the last part and then on to the next.

Noel raised his hand and knocked quietly on Hope's door. The other had avoided all of them since the initial terrible meeting at Serah and Snow's apartment. He hadn't talked to Yeul about the other because he found he didn't need to. Last night, when he had finally felt okay enough to really consider the plans that Lightning had had and what she had meant to happen to him and Hope as well as the others. He'd had a memory. A memory of Hope and himself squeezed into a small sleeping bag together. Snuggled up and talking quietly. He didn't know what they were saying or why they were that way, but he did know that he wanted nothing more that forever.

The door slid open after a few minutes and a tired looking Hope answered. It was rather late Noel would admit. But he didn't want to risk Hope being at the office and he knew that Arcane made sure he went home after a certain time. The other smiled gently, and opened the door wider.

"What brings you here so late?" He asked quietly.

"I had wanted to talk to you." The hunter replied as he followed him into the kitchen. Hope set about making coffee which made Noel wrinkle his nose considering the late hour. He smiled in contentment as the silver haired man also put on water for tea. They sat quietly as they waited, the silence companionable. Noel reached out and took his hand and squeezed gently.

"I wanted to talk to you about something important."

"If it's about Lightning and her plans I already talked to Snow." Hope replied stiffly. "And no I still haven't made a decision either way."

"Actually... I wanted to talk about us. Fang told me that we had a relationship of about 6 months and last night I remember something... About us." Noel released the paler hand as the other nervously got up and attended the tea kettle and coffee pot.

"Noel... You don't have to-"

"I don't have to what? Pretend that I care about you?" Noel asked as he curled his hands up against his knees. He forced all the tension out of himself. This was something that Hope had been suffering over trying to navigate what was best for the hunter. He didn't to heap more on his plate. "This is not me pretending. This is me wanting to know about my past. About who I was... and who I am to you."

"You are my most precious person." Hope was standing in front of the hot beverages he'd prepared. One strong coffee for himself with sugar and a mild fragrant tea with a dash of hot pepper. The way he'd prepared it for Noel during their time together in 400AF. "We met originally in 10AF I think it was, but it was 400AF when things really happened."

"The assassination attempts and the 13th Ark." Noel stated as the smaller man set the tea down in front of him. "We were together for around 6 or so months is what Fang told me."

"She is nosey as hell." Hope frowned to himself. "And no where near as obvious as the others."

"At least she cares." Noel interjected, Fang had become something of a big sister to him. Something about her reminded him of some of the friends he had as a child before the others died. "I mean considering what everything looks like right now I just..."

"Just what?" Hope asked as the other trailed off. "Like I said I already talked to Snow and if you are giving any credence to Lightning's half cocked, stupid plan I will stop you right now!"

Noel jerked up and stared at Hope in surprised at the downright vicious tone the other had taken. "I don't know how I forgot your temper. But that's... That's not what I'm worried about."

"Then what's wrong Noel?" Hope asked as he settled himself back down. "I feel like that's really the biggest thing right now."

"Lightning won't go through with the plan. I'm pretty sure that it's already too late considering how far along the chaos war is. And Serah won't let her kill me after I've supported her for so long. Lightning is clouded by her goddess-like powers and the fact that the she was only allowed to see the parts of the timeline that Etro allowed her to see."

"What does that even mean?" Hope asked bitterly.

"One of the goals Caius had... Was for me to become the next guardian... but also the next seer in a way. I would be a doll that would hold the heart and eyes of Etro seeing the future and dying will over and over. I would be a doll so I couldn't rebel." Noel took a deep breath. "This is why the Eyes of Etro goes through a cycle of rebirth. To contain all that pain and loss in one lifetime would be too much. It could destroy a person very easily." He looked up at Hope through his hair as he held the tea in his hands. Too nervous to drink but not ready to put the cup down. "The choice that Etro had given Lightning was bad but the alternatives..."

"Well that's a lovely thought but at this point its nothing more then a thought exercise." Hope waved that a way and took a deep drought from his coffee. "And that still doesn't answer why you came to talk to me about a relationship that doesn't exist anymore."

Noel felt a pang in his gut. This didn't sound like the Hope he knew, who was always willing to fight for more. To save his friends, to make his mother proud, to save the whole goddamn world. So why would Hope give up on something that he could probably get easily. Noel wasn't adverse at all to the mage's company and had often sought him out. He set down the cup and looked up at the older man.

"Is it really okay to call me your most precious person and then continuously push me away? Doesn't it hurt you?" Noel asked quietly. "I know that you don't want to force your feelings on me. But this isn't about that. This is about who I am and the person that I was."

"The person that you 'were' and the person that you are now aren't all that different." Hope stated quietly. "It's not like something profoundly changed you." 

"But I did change. I grew up and I fell in love. I saw things that no one else has seen and been in all kinds of different timelines. I'm sitting across from a person who calls me his most precious person but still holds my well being in higher regards then his own self." Noel stood up and and moved around the table and pulled Hope up and then into his arms. "I'm tired of watching you fight more for the happiness of others then yourself."

"N-Noel?" Hope was taken aback but Noel's abrupt move. Sure the other was a little wild and could be unpredictable, but he had taken care in not surprising Hope with his actions until now.

"You're so busy denying our relationship in the hope of not disturbing me that you have noticed that I'm falling in love with you all over again."

Hope opened his mouth to reply and then closed it again. With relief he let himself sink into the other. The silver haired man wrapped his arms around the taller man's waist and leaned his face into Noel's neck. Noel smiled as the other curled into him. The light shudder that escaped Hope worried him for a second before he realized it was a shudder of relief. Hope opened his eyes slowly and took in the sun browned skin and pressed a kiss to Noel's skin along the collar of his shirt.

Noel jumped, his muscles tensing and relaxing. It made Hope's smile broadened. This all felt like a dream. And yet he knew it wasn't. He could feel the strength in the young man he loved. The parts of Noel that was wild and untamable. Feeling that raw power contained in human form helped Hope to realize it was real.

And then Noel's stomach growled which reminded him that Noel was kind of an idiot. Well, okay didn't remind him. The maturity that Noel had gained was absent due to having forgotten so much. He pulled back a laugh. "Were you so nervous about meeting with me that you didn't eat?"

"Well... I had planned on asking you out on a date but I couldn't remember if you were the date type. And then I realized I don't even know what a proper date was. So I asked Fang and she recommended a hunt! Which I thought was a great idea... But then the game reserves were closed and-"

"And you still are as smooth as Snow." Hope interrupted placing a hand over Noel's mouth. "I have some chocobo steaks or something that I can make real quick."

"Ohhh and do you have Clearwater greens? I haven't had those in a while." Noel asked excitedly.

Hope smiled softly and fondly. "I'm sure I do."

*****************************

Noel eyes blinked open to stare at the ceiling, he was in a room not his own. But he didn't feel in danger. The was a comfortable weight against his side and he turned his head to see bright silver hair. He ruffled the hair lightly as another memory came back to him. It was nice he thought. To learn about Hope again now that he didn't feel weird or conflicted.

Although Hope laughing at him as he realized that forgetting his memories also meant that he forgot about having sex with the other. Which Noel had declared gave the scientist an unfair advantage as he knew Noel's weak spots while the younger didn't know about thing about Hope's body. 

Although, the process of relearning seemed like it would be a lot more fun. The mage shifted but stubbornly stayed asleep. Noel chuckled lightly. He didn't remember Hope being so sluggish to wake in what few memories he had. But in the end, he knew a lot of it had to do with the world outside. The world he is beginning to have to pay more attention to. While they had disregarded Lighting's terrible idea. There was still the problems of the continuous fighting just outside the Ark.

"Thinking is not your strong point." Hope grumbled as he shifted to straddle Noel's waist. "I can hear your thoughts and they are all terribly depressing."

"No you can't and hush." The brunette grasped his lover's hips to hold him in place.

"Well of course I can't. But your face tells me they are terrible." Hope leaned down and kissed him. "Don't think about it."

"I can't help but think about it." Noel admitted quietly as he adjusted Hope on top of him. "All this waiting is hard. I've never been on this side before."

Hope sighed deeply. It was something that he knew the others were having problems with. They were use to moving, being apart of it. Even Sazh and Dajh, sure they hadn't been around for most of it, but that was mostly in limbo before they should up to the battle in 500AF. Everyone was acting like it was the end of the world to have to wait until they had something they could do.

It made him feel even more like they had just taken him for granted. He pushed aside those bitter thoughts and pushed himself up to look into Noel's eyes. He leaned down and kissed his younger lover gently. He looked forward to building up their partnership again. Thankful for his second chance he kissed him again.

"Waiting is apart of life." He cupped Noel's face and watched him carefully. "If we have destroyed Etro's terrible plan then there is nothing we can do. The chaos is beyond our mortal hands."

"But shouldn't something happen? At least some kind of punishment?" The brunette asked bitterly.

Hope laughed softly. "Punishment for you is is a lack of good quality chocobo steaks. And I think your memories were the real price. When you left your time... You left behind all familiarity and what you gained... Serah, Mog, Snow and I... Caius then took that away from you as well. It was by luck that I came upon the idea of the box."

"So... you think I got a second lease on life?" Noel asked with a teasing smile.

"I'd hope so." Hope sat up on Noel's hips and stretched his arms. "Because I'd rather wait with you then without."

******************************

"So... We're sitting ducks on this ark with what's left of humanity?" Snow asked, as they all set in his and Serah's place. This time fully informed and calmed down it was time to really discuss what to do next.

"Yes, as it stands." Hope explained quietly. "The outside world is deadly and toxic. The crystal sand and the chaos make it impossible for Gran Pulse to support any of the life forms that are stored on the Ark."

"What about you Light? You're the Goddess' champion." Fang asked over her tea but the stoic female shook her head.

"I am technically an enemy of the chaos. An enforcer to push it in line. The streams of energy that are against the Goddess would attack me." She sighed softly. "I've heard when I was in Valhalla about ways to tame the chaos. But the only one I know of is detrimental to all of us."

"Oh? In what way?" Sazh asked with genuine interest. He liked to think that he could stop them from doing crazy, one off plans.

"You know the old lore right? About Bhunivelze and the origin of the world?" The taller of the two pink haired women looked at them. "One of the things that Etro did to spite him was to tame chaos and transform it. Thus how humans have souls. As the chaos tamer she became the Goddess of Death. It was passed down to her from her Grandmother the creator of everything as a way to empty the world. It is called the Soulsong. It would draw all the souls to Valhalla to reset the whole cycle of humanity."

"But if Valhalla is in this world then what would it do?" Hope asked quietly.

"With all the worlds crushed together it would pull the souls into the Void."

"So basically out of time and lost forever. Great." Noel pushed up from the table and left. "All that chaos out there is our families, our friends, hell even our enemies. To do that would be to permanently massacre millions or billions or whatever of people."

"In your time the cycle was broken too!" Light protested. "Valhalla was filled with chaos because of the low human population."

"Even so! We all know that the paradoxes started because Etro took pity on the four of you!" Noel shouted back firmly. "And even before then she felt sorry for Fang and Vanille! Do you see beyond your own silly goals? Because it's all gone! Everything that each and every person in this room has fought for is gone. And yet you keep trying to cast around the blame as if you are faultless in all this!"

A silence engulfed the room that left everyone in silence. Noel was not one to lose his temper like that. It was telling Hope thought as he looked around the room. This static existence was taking it's toll on them. Especially the waiting. Unlike Hope, Noel and Serah the rest of them weren't use to being left behind. It was weird. It was weird though, they were a group of leaders and loners mostly. Serah, Noel, Sazh and maybe Vanille were the only ones not use to giving orders or being alone. Even he after all this years wasn't one to take orders.

Although now he felt like he was closer in age to Sazh then anyone else. But realizing that everyone else was willing to let this meeting end with Noel's bitter words he decided to stop all this foolishness. Everyone was so removed from working in a cohesive group. And the only two willing to do so, Noel and Serah were half way treated as outsides.

Hope wasn't sure about his own place within the group. After Light's outburst he was sure he was't much more then an outsider to most of them except the three that had dealt with this new him. Clearing his throat and afraid of the storm that could be brewing beneath the surface he started.

"Obviously, we will not consider the Soulsong. It wouldn't solve any of our problems. Among out team we have a varied source of powers and no predetermined goal to choose or rebel against." He summarized their situation calmly and carefully. "Our main goal right now is a goal that I know that none of you like. Which is to ensure that the Ark stays safe."

"As long as Yeul's mark remains the Ark is protected." Serah replied calmly.

"Which is all well and good. But we all know that the chaos army would benefit from this Ark falling. The other part we have to take into consideration that with Etro weakened and even possibly dying... That the other gods might come back." Hope continued still in a calming tone.

"I can't see that happening." Snow interjected.

"Do we really need any more holy spooks causing trouble." Sazh grumbled under his breath. "And of all the things. Isn't half this shit their goal? The Fal'cie were looking for the door to Valhalla. Well they found it so now what?"

"Bhunivelze gave them the task to search for the door. With both worlds fused together and the Fal'cie all dead it serves to rights they would come back." Hope interjected but Lighting shook her head.

"All of the lower level gods other then Etro are gone. The only interim god left between us is Etro. Lindzei and Pulse put all their power into their Fal'cie. With the Fal'cie destroyed by the chaos they at the best are weakened. At the worst dead. We... are what's keeping Etro alive." Lightning gestured to the group of them. "We are her Fal'cie basically."

"What does that even mean?" Noel asked angrily.

"Originally Etro divided her power between her heart and her eyes. Given to two. And at the end she stretched her power into other things to keep from dying when the heart was caged. Everyone in this room has been bestowed with her will. We are the reason that Etro is still alive. This is the reason that only we can do something." The Goddess champion looked around at all of them. "Though none of us truly has the ability to do anything about the chaos."

"So back to square one." Snow grumbled and Serah shook her head.

"Not square one." She cupped her hands together and stared down into them. "Before the powers of the time maiden were removed from me. I saw one last future. a future further away then this one. In it was a man of glowing light. He was cold, almost metallic. He sought to mold the chaos to his will. But I'm not sure that he could see it."

"Not sure he could see it." Light mused to herself before she explained what she meant. "Sounds like Bhunivelze from what I remember of hearing Etro's memories. As her champion she could not directly talk to me but she could send her memories. Things she wanted me to see."

"So you mean to tell me we are moving right past the minions to the big boss?" Sazh shook his head. "I ain't cut out for running around with you kids anymore. And Dajh is incredibly young-"

"I don't even know if we could actually take on God!" Noel cut in look at all of them. "Everything in our world derives from him. How are we supposed to use the powers bestowed on us to fight him?!"

"We did it once." Snow replied as he leaned back in the chair. "On Cocoon the Fal'cie were our gods. They gave us everything. Even our l'cie powers. The water, food. Everything. And we used the powers of the l'cie to stop them."

"No." Serah shook his head. "You used the power of chaos." She reached out and laid a hand on her fiance's arm. "None of the gods can fully control chaos. Not even Etro. The goddess has talked to me as well. She can persuade the souls because is dead. A stronger manifest of chaos because of her presence. That is what the chaos army is fighting for. To take control of the power that her mass amounts of chaos have given her."

"So... you think that with the innate chaos within us would be they way that we defeat him?" Fang asked as she looked up from the couch. She and Vanille had only been partially listening. She'd let them fight on their own and attend to other things.

"Possibly? You told me that Vanille has a powerful chaos presence that allowed her to be an animal tamer... Much like me. I bet that we could probably direct some of the chaos souls around. Although on that magnitude would probably be too much."

"All this amounts to is that we are sitting ducks until something else happens." Snow grumbled angrily.

"Look." Hope stated quietly. "You are all just fussing and it's not helping." Snow moved to protest and Hope stopped him with a glare. In fact his temper basically just blew and he cowed them all down into quiet and crossed his arms across his chest. "We are going to stop this right now. Maybe all you can think about is the next battle. And fighting Bhunivelze. But what you are forgetting is that there has to be a base. That this Ark is not prepared for a battle. You all sweep in and sweep out and never consider for one blessed second all the work that's put in to making sure you can fight your battles."

"That's not true!" Vanille cried out but Hope turned his angry eyes on her and shut her right back up.

"There is lots of work to be done. It's just work you all don't want to do. You all want to sweep in and do the things that are big and flashy. Well guess what! We now have to get ready for the next battle. And you know what. You all need to get over your egos and start doing the boring work!"

The silence that stretched across the room and everyone was looking down guilty. Hope sighed softly and sat back down and uncrossed his arms. "Look I know this is hard on all of you. But there are things that need to get done. We need to train, we need to prepare the Ark. We need to actually do the things to ensure that humanity will live on."

"I guess I never thought of it that way." Fang scratched the back of her head. "Vanille and I have always just charged in and tried to fix things."

Hope sigh deeply. "I guess in the end it would be a hard concept to understand. Mostly I just want you all to train. If a battle has to happen it has to be all of you."

"And what about you?" Snow asked confused as he looked around the room.

"I'm not much of a fighter anymore... Never really was remember? I think I've gotten use to the boring stuff. So I'll cover that end okay?" He smiled at them brightly. "I expect you all to be in top form. Like my own private attack force."

The joke fell horribly flat but it served it's purpose to relax the room. Hope worked hard to keep his smile from fading. It was obvious to him that he didn't fit in with them anymore. In a way, and it sounded rather bad in his head. But he had moved back into civilian life and they had never left the 'military' so to speak. Feeling depressed and separated again, he took a long drink of his water.

"I guess there's not much else to do?" Serah asked, there was a troubled look on her face. It had been a long time she thought. Hope had been separated from them, from all of them for around ten years or so. The meeting sort of ended and they all moved on to more relaxed places or even home.

Noel immediately latched onto Hope to follow him home. They two left Serah and Snow's house and leisurely walked towards the scientists house. Noel sighed softly and laced his fingers with Hope.

"Do you really feel as if you aren't apart of us?" He asked quietly.

"I must admit... It's different with you and Serah." The mage whispered as he stopped along the road side and then moved towards a balcony and looked out over the city of New Academia. "After the Fall... Fang and Vanille were gone. And everyone else had left me."

"Hope." Noel squeezed his hand but Hope shook his head.

"When you and Serah met me at the Paddra Ruins all those years ago... It ended the loneliest phase of my life. It became a thing to look forward to. It was the first time I had hope that I'd see everyone again. Through the years, knowing I'd see you and Serah again kept me going." He took a deep breath. "But then in 400AF everything changed again. I had accepted by then that I wasn't going to be reunited with everyone. I thought that it was good enough to be support. To make sure that everyone would be reunited in the past. I had been okay with being stuck in 500AF... If everyone else could live happily back then."

"But you've met them all again! We're all here together!" Noel scooped into his arms and held him tightly. "Isn't that good?"

"Sorta?" Hope leaned into Noel and closed his eyes. "I'm with them... but I'm not really who they want. Stupidface, Serah and you have gotten to know this Hope. Even like this Hope. But the others... I'm not their Hope. And I think seeing this face is hard on them. They can't trust this face. They can't trust this person who has become representative of a controlling force. Which is something that they have resented for a long time."

"Well, then we're going to change that right now! All your life you have been doing the 'boring work' to make sure that the future will not be bleak and to save them. And! They need to appreciate you! And they will!"

"Noel." Hope whispered his hands suddenly clenching in the dark blue of Noel's shirt. "Thank you."


	20. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I had a brief crisis about this fic and almost deleted the whole thing to start over. I think it's just a me hang up though. Like I like the plot and characterizations... so i don't know...
> 
> Anyways, enough of that. Here is the last part!

Hope relaxed into his warm bed. It was a lazy morning for him. He was not much of a morning person and he wasn't meeting Noel until lunch. He rolled over on his side. Of course Noel wasn't there. He often got up early to go out to the nature reserves and relax. The other still had problems with his memories. Hadn't remember much more then he had after their initial weeks together.

Hope smiled deeply as he rolled over to the side of the bed that smelled like Noel. He didn't know how it was so easy to be around the other. Hope was such an introvert but Noel wasn't one to really set him off. It was just as well that Noel didn't want to bother him with his unrecovered memories that he didn't want to be a burden. He bit his lips as he groaned at Noel's continuing stupidity. Noel was such a lovable idiot. 

Reforging his relationship with Noel was the best thing that he'd ever done. Moments together as he tried to reaffirm the Academy's and ensure that they would survive the Chaos War outside. It was so much that was happen though. Over two and a half centuries had passed since the chaos had invaded. At least that's what the calendars and clocks said. It didn't feel that. Not at all. He could get the world pass this. And more importantly he'd had this safe haven of his house with Noel. Once he broke him of his annoying early morning habits of getting up horribly early and going out. Firm in his thoughts he relaxed back into the sheets. And that was when the pain started.

He gasped for breath, clutching at his chest. What was happening? He twisted in the sheets and realized that the room was getting brighter and brighter. As the pain grew stronger. Something inside him, warned him to get away from the light. He pushed himself back and fell off the bed. He screamed in pain as the light grew brighter and tried to escape.

The light engulfed him and Hope knew no more.

**********************************

Noel and Serah sat in companionable silence over coffee in a small cafe near the outskirts of New Academia. Both much earlier risers then their beloved counterparts it had become something of a nice time to meet up. They were like brother and sister in many respects and they had felt that it was a good time to talk about the problems within their group. And Noel had sorely need to talk to her.

"I guess it makes sense that there would be that kind of tension." Serah remarked sadly as she stared down at the table. "In my own way I'm guilty of the same thing. Snow and I have had quit a few private fights. Because I believed that Lightning wasn't trapped in the pillar... We postponed out wedding, practically cancelled our engagement so he could go off a journey that by all means should have been hopeless."

"But you were right." Noel interrupted.

"Surprisingly yes, but I put our whole life on hold. He became a l'cie again. All for my sister who practically hated him." She swallowed hard. "And in a way I forced him to abandon Hope."

"Now that's not true at all." Noel took his hand in hers. "Don't you dare take blame for what they did. They chose not to reach out to Hope. And furthermore... It's them after all that Hope has done... Being distrustful over being thankful."

"That's a rather strong sentiment." Serah teased gently. "But in a way... You and I are the only ones that keep him in the loop. When we meet him in 10AF he hadn't seen any of us in around seven years. And we just popped in and out of his life with no guarantees as we forced him to support our journey."

'That's self defeating!" Noel slapped his hand on the table and gasp when his coffee jumped splattering him with hot coffee. He whimpered slightly as he sucked on the light burn. "I mean... I guess in a way we could all be blamed for hurting someone. But I still don't think its fair that he sacrificed his life for us and basically got nothing in return."

Serah could only nod her agreement. They setlled into comfortable silence when Serah's comm rang. She jumped in confusion and then pulled it out to check. It was a message from Lightning that only said 'urgent.' Feeling nervous she stood up and nodded to Noel.

"Light wants to see us. Now." She explained as she headed for the door. "Something must have happened."

Noel threw back the rest of his drink and took off after her. This didn't bode well. He felt a little nervous as he followed her through the busy streets. When they veered away from the route to Serah's house, Noel realized very quickly that they were heading for his. Noel felt his chest seize up and he pushed past Serah to move faster. Sazh was at the door looking uncomfortable. When he saw the two of them approaching his face only became more grim.

"He's gone." Sazh explained as he stood in front of the door preventing their entrance. Noel's eyes widen and he moved to push past Sazh but was stopped. "Just listen to me for a moment."

Noel bared his teeth and reached for Sazh again but Serah grabbed him and held him back. The older man sighed deeply. Sazh stepped forward and shoved Noel towards the sitting area. The guards outside had watched them nervously but since they all had high level security passes didn't interfere.

"Look. It's really not good. There were signs of a struggle but more importantly... Signs of the holy spooks." Sazh scrubbed a hand across his face, his rough brown face worn in with worry. "we don't know what happened but there's nothing we can do."

"THERE CAN'T BE NOTHING!" Noel was up again but Sazh's pushed him back down with a firm hand on his shoulder. The father in the older man came out full force.

"Look... no one every wants to hear that. I know just the well as the rest of you. But the fact of the matter is kid, there are no leads right now. And the Academy won't let us do anything. And Light... that girl's half cocked and livid. She 'n Snow are in there arguing with those paper pushers. Any more people in there and it'll be bloodshed."

"But Hope!" Noel rasped. Not having anything to do was causing nervous tremors in him. His deepest enemy, the feeling of being helpless was manifesting itself in the worst way. Sazh sighed deeply and Serah wrapped an arm around him tightly. "We have to do something. I can't-"

"I know how you feel." Sazh sighed deeply as his face crossed with lines as he remembered some of his own unpleasant events. "We all want to protect Hope, find him and keep him safe. Also I know that you have a bit more... of invested interest in this mess. But we can't risk the Academy finding out about the whole special powers business and without Hope as our barrier and filter-"

"I don't care about any of that! I care about Hope!" Noel protested and Serah squeezed him again.

"We all care about Hope. And more importantly we have to find him and preserve his work." The pink haired girl spoke as she rubbed a hand soothingly on his back. "I'm sure you understand that."

Noel gritted his teeth even as tears started to fall. With nothing to do the tense anger and need to do something dissolved into emotional pain that he wasn't sure of how to deal with. As the tears rolled down his cheeks he turned and buried his face into Serah and unleashed the emotional pain that he wasn't sure of how to cope with.

Sazh turned from them as the door opened. Lightning exited with a grim look on her face. She approached them carefully and came to stand next to Sazh. She swallowed hard as she saw watched Noel lose his composure. They all sat in silence for a long moment and Lightning spoke up.

"The Academy wants to confiscate the whole apartment. Snow managed to convince them to hold off until we have a moment. But from what I've seen and noted is that it was definitely something not of this world." She spoke quietly.

"And what does that mean?" Sazh asked as he looked back towards the door waiting for Snow's exit.

"I'm not really sure. It could have been Etro but she's still terrible weak. It definitely wasn't chaos. Something doesn't feel right but it definitely means that we don't have a trail."

"Snow went after you without one!" Noel growled and Lightning sighed deeply.

"It's not that we aren't going to go after Hope." She started gently, not something she was really use to trying to be. "It's that there is nothing here that can help us. Snow is in there convincing them to give us Hope's chaos research. Vanille and Fang left earlier to go to HQ and contact Arcane."

"And what will that do?" Serah asked quietly.

"I believe that Hope isn't on the Ark at all anymore. He was in charge of monitoring the chaos outside. I want to see if whatever took him, took him outside."

Noel swallowed hard with nervousness. Going outside meant a slow death from the crystal dust. He stood up nervously but Lightning pushed him back down. "While it sucks there is nothing for us to do until the others are finished."

"And then what-"

A low shudder like an earthquake shook the building. Noel jerked out of Lightning's grip as they all moved towards the door at the second shudder. Soon the whole building was shaking. The 14th Ark gave a sharp whine. It occurred to Noel slowly, almost as if he was outside his body that something was dreadfully wrong with the gravitation cores. The Ark gave another lurch and terror began to fill his veins.

 

The Ark was falling.


End file.
